ABSTRACT

The building is orientated towards the south, symbolically turning its back on the city. All classrooms look out towards the woods and distant hills. By placing windows, clerestorys and roof lights to optimize views and daylight, the building gives form to the rural site and the environmental forces, to create a dramatic new vernacular architecture. In order to dramatize the form and limit the perceived length of its corridors, the building is fragmented into five primary blocks with ancillary accommodation in between. Ground floor plan. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs3_1_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>

142The classrooms are grouped in blocks of four, each arranged as a small rustic house, with a gymnasium making up the fifth element. Whilst interesting in themselves (and something of a development from their earlier Seabird Island School), here it is the ancillary areas in between the classroom ‘pods’ which became the predominant social and educational zones. The meandering corridor route enables smaller areas to be articulated which are beyond the classroom confines. These ‘in-between’ spaces create an overlap between the classrooms and other facilities establishing a comfortable intermediate scale to which children relate. These places may be used by individuals or small groups from adjacent classrooms. Movable carts for art, science and cooking have been designed for these common areas which can be unplugged and wheeled outside to create the focus for external teaching groups. The form of the architecture can be seen to effectively extend the educational and social curriculum.

The metaphor for this building is expressively environmental, almost anti-urban – perhaps a rejection of city values which at times becomes too overt. However, the double height spine wall of circulation and ancillary spaces (library, computer room and technical centre) places an emphasis on this side of the school’s programme, over and above the conventional closed classrooms. Its dialogue with the surrounding landscape and this rich social programme make it a refreshing and radical approach to the architecture of schools. Site plan. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs3_2_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>

Long section. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs3_3a_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Cross section. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs3_3b_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> The oversized sun shade and the cedar clad walls slope eccentrically outwards on the northern city side of the building. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs3_4_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> (Patkau Associates. Photo: © James Dow.) Spaces in between classrooms and service areas not only form the corridor link between each block of accommodation, but also become inhabited by small-group activities: this science corner is lit dramatically by the afternoon sun. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs3_5_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> (Patkau Associates. Photo: © James Dow.)