UPDATE
“Working with everyone at ADP has been perfect in every way. For me as Headteacher, it was wonderful to work with people who could “get inside our heads” and put our vision into reality. Our new building provides an inspirational place to be for our children and provides learning spaces that support our teaching pedagogy and philosophy of treating children with respect and dignity. Our new school is a wonderful home to both children and adults. Working with ADP was a truly great partnership.” Headteacher, Jesmond Gardens Primary School
RIBA Award Winner 2013
PRIMARY AWARD WINNING JESMOND GARDENS
Awards for Jesmond Gardens Primary School ADP’s design for Jesmond Gardens Primary School in Hartlepool has won the RIBA North East award, the RIBA North East Sustainability Award, the RIBA North East Building of the Year and a RIBA National Award. The school also won a RICS award and a commendation from the Civic Trust.
Jesmond Gardens Primary School is a new 315 place school (with 26 full time nursery places) designed to replace, as part of Hartlepool’s Primary Capital Programme, an existing Victorian school built on a nearby site. The 2,055m2 school is designed around principles of transformational learning, which encourages the use of personalised, independent learning approaches that reflect a child’s stage, rather than age. ADP designed ‘learning bases’ for each key stage, fitted with acoustic curtains that can be easily drawn, dividing a group of up to ninety children into smaller configurations as required. This highly flexible configuration allows staff to focus on key pupil groups - whether gifted and talented, or with additional educational needs - with increased responsiveness. The learning areas are open, welcoming and airy, created by natural daylight and high quality furniture. The teaching and storage walls release floor area and space, reducing the need for
storage furniture. There are also self-contained ‘pods’ consisting of toilets and washbasins, providing privacy for pupils. This is important to the vision statement, which outlined that children are to be ‘well-catered for’ and ‘given the respect they deserve.’ The central ‘heart’ area was designed to enable expansion of the teaching areas and main hall. The two can be linked together or separated, providing agile options for assembly, lunch times, and to house the thriving parent community. Similarly, the circulation spaces can be used as ICT-enabled extensions to the learning spaces. Internal and external space works to provide an integrated environment. In addition to a trim trail, MUGA and sports pitch, the design also incorporates allotments and a wildlife area that provides a habitat zone. Earlier this year, the school won four RIBA awards.
“This is the best building I have ever opened…This building astonishes…It is bathed in light and learning… It’s a world class school with such attention to detail… Every detail matters because every detail improves learning.” Professor Stephen Heppell, who champions innovative learning approaches in schools
PRIMARY COMMUNITY INTEGRATION AT CRINGLEFORD
“The children and staff have settled in really well to the new school. Everyone is excited about the opportunity to work and learn in such a stimulating environment with new resources. We have been really pleased with the positive feedback from the pupils, parents and other visitors.”
Headteacher, Cringleford Primary School ADP was appointed from feasibility stage to develop a new 420 place primary school and 26 place nursery in Cringleford, near Norwich. The new school serves an existing village and a new housing development, which required a building to bring together the two communities. The scheme has been organised as a series of clusters; one for Early Years Foundation Stage, one for Key Stage 1 and one for Key Stage 2. These form a sense of belonging within each teaching group, breaking down the scale of the building and provide a sense of progression for pupils as they pass through the school. The teaching clusters are positioned along a curved circulation spine with the halls, dining and administration facilities positioned facing the site frontage. The curved form is designed to be welcoming and engage with the local community. The form is zoned to allow areas such as the halls to be used by the community, independently of the school. Each teaching cluster is designed to provide a series of flexible classrooms, with the construction allowing for classrooms to be
linked together if required. The classrooms are set either side of a flexible ‘open learning’ area providing learning resource areas, group spaces and storage. Individual group rooms are placed at the entry to each teaching cluster, designed for multiple uses including withdrawal, meetings, individual study or prayer. The teaching wings project out into the landscape, creating quiet, sheltered external teaching spaces, which are accessible from the classrooms. These, together with the external weather protected learning zones promote free flow learning from inside to outside the classroom. The curved form of the circulation spine extends into the landscape to provide protected pedestrian routes leading to and from the school, segregated from vehicle areas and providing clear wayfinding for the children. The brief has been developed through extensive consultation and is designed to achieve a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating.
PRIMARY INCREASING PUPIL PLACES AT ST. PETER’S
ADP was appointed to carry out a feasibility study to investigate options for expanding the existing St. Peter’s Primary School from a one form to a two form of entry as part of Croydon’s Primary Capital Programme. The existing school buildings were located on a small, steeply sloping site within a residential area in South Croydon. The classrooms, dining hall and kitchen have limited functionality and quality due to presence of a number of posts inserted in the 1970s. Concerns over the integrity of the structural concrete frame were confirmed as it was later found to also contain high alumina cement. The existing roof structure was strengthened or replaced as part of the refurbishment and extension works. By digging a new two storey teaching block into the slope between the existing hard play areas, the impact of the new extension on the external area is reduced. This extension to the school means
that flexibility throughout can be increased with existing circulation and break out areas returning to their original use and the library, ICT space, cloakrooms and storage all now allocated dedicated spaces. As the new block is partially dug into the ground, insulation and air tightness levels are high. The scheme is designed to maximise natural light through the use of west facing glazing, external shading and rooflights to both levels. The building uses stacks on both floors for natural ventilation, and there is a green roof. The main contractor was appointed at an early stage to assist with costs, programme and phasing advice. The school had already started their expansion process and had temporary units on site. It remained in operation throughout the extension and refurbishment works so the team planned the works on a phased basis to ensure that pupil safety and a high quality teaching environment were maintained throughout.
“The building, the grounds and the equipment all combine to celebrate the children and help promote our message of ‘aspire and achieve’ for the whole community. It is a stateof-the-art environment for teaching and learning and a cost-effective building that is low maintenance and energy-efficient.” Headteacher, Oakwood Primary School
PRIMARY ADDING VALUE AT HEAVERS FARM
ADP was commissioned to extend Heavers Farm Primary School from a two form entry to a three form entry. The design includes six new classrooms plus additional teaching spaces arranged around a central breakout space. External works were carried out to create an extended play area. Classrooms and the nursery area within the existing building were also refurbished. The new development seeks to tie the new and existing structures together to reflect the existing architectural language, whilst addressing the solar gain and thermal comfort issues of the existing building. Simple in form, the design seeks to compliment the existing buildings without copying them. The new classroom block houses Years 5 and 6. The breakout space is located centrally, and is shared by both years. Each classroom includes dedicated storage and cloakroom space.
The classrooms are fully glazed to the perimeter to maximise natural light and views outside. High level clerestory windows on the internal walls allow natural light into the rear of the space and provide a means for effective natural ventilation. The overhanging eaves of the sedum roof follow the line of the existing canopies but provide protection from glare and excessive solar gain. The sedum roof to the classroom block reflects the position of the new extension on the site; close to the boundary with the adjacent allotments and meadow land. The landscape design at the school aims to provide an enhanced environment, which encourages wildlife and provides practical play and learning spaces.
UNIVERSITY TECHNICAL COLLEGES PARTNERSHIP IN EDUCATION
PREVIOUS PAGE AND LOWER LEFT New design for Energy Coast UTC, due to open in Sepember 2014. LEFT ABOVE AND LOWER RIGHT Our new facilities for UTC Reading, consisting of a significant refurbishment of existing buildings and a high tech new building. UTC Reading opened on time and has its first students.
University Technical Colleges (UTC) bring together local universities, colleges of further education, and industry partners to provide specialist education for 14-19 year olds. ADP has designed new facilities for the recently open UTC Reading, and Energy Coast UTC, West Cumbria. UTC Reading specialises in computer science and engineering, and will provide students with excellent preparation for apprenticeships, further education, and the workplace. UTC Reading has been formed by a partnership between local education providers consisting of Oxford and Cherwell Valley College and University of Reading, and industry sponsors. The industry sponsors offer advice on the content of the curriculum, develop employer-led challenges, provide work experience opportunities, and participate in the governance of the UTC. UTC Reading’s main industry partners are the large technology companies, Microsoft and Cisco, and engineering firms, Network Rail and Peter Brett Associates LLP. ADP’s design incorporates a major refurbishment of some existing buildings and a new building especially to accommodate an IT, Art and Music Centre. The site is on the edge of a Conservation Area and on a residential street, both important considerations for our
consultation and design process. The new building will form the new entrance to the UTC, and our interventions throughout the site will link the campus to create a cohesive environment that is easily navigable. Our re-use of the existing buildng fabric, installation of new high performance windows and rooflights, and natural ventilation units mean than the new UTC is highly energy efficient. With the focus on computer science, our design takes inspiration from digital technology, and the buildings themselves will have wireless technology throughout to enable learning on students’ devices. The £8m UTC accommodates 600 students and follows the 8:30-5 working week to prepare students for the pattern of their future employment. The partners of Energy Coast UTC are Britain’s Energy Coast Campus, University of Cumbria, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Lakes College West Cumbria and GEN II Training. The new education facility will include training workshops and conference facilities. ADP’s concept was to keep the building simple and distinct, with functionality and adaptability at the forefront of the design.
SECONDARY PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE AT ST. JOHN’S
PREVIOUS PAGE State-of-the-art ‘Space to Learn’ ICT facilities at St. Anthony’s Academy, Sunderland. RIGHT New Churchill Day House at St. John’s School, Leatherhead.
The new Churchill Day House forms part of an integrated masterplan for this part of the school, defining a new small courtyard that complements the main quadrangle around which the main school buildings are arranged. In the setting of listed Victorian buildings, the design is complementary but contemporary. Steeply pitched roofs and rich red brick facades relate to the original buildings, whilst the crisp construction details correspond to ADP’s earlier Henry Dawes Building across the main quad. The accommodation is organised in two differently sized blocks along a central spine with a staircase and platform lift. The junior and senior day rooms, as well as the computer room, are located
in the south-eastern block facing the Headmaster’s garden. Equally sized study rooms, each for fifteen students, are distributed in the north-western block with a central stacked toilet core in between. An accessible toilet and shower room facility is provided on the first floor, accessible via the platform lift in the central circulation area. The ground floor houses changing room facilities facing the sport fields and an office for the Housemaster. The junior day room on the ground floor has access to an external terrace. A small void over the entrances allows vertical expression in the facade, which is in-line with the appearance of the existing school buildings and their striking Flemish Gothic (vertical) style. A dormer window on the roof-top provides natural ventilation and light, and reflects the vertical spires and chimneys of the existing buildings.
“We are thrilled with the solution that ADP has delivered: a vision of modernity, tranquillity and harmony in an urbanised and challenging area. We are particularly pleased with the flexible learning spaces that we can adapt for group work, and the fact that every classroom leads outdoors, with its own canopy, providing valuable and enviable ‘al fresco’ teaching space. We also love the inner courtyard area with its “Learning Tree” as the natural epicentre and heartbeat of the school, serving as a tranquil communal meeting place for special productions and everyday storytelling.” Headteacher, Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy
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