ABSTRACT
The building sits prominently within a park, an elongated sleek object, enclosing its inner secrets like a wrapped gift. Once inside, classrooms, therapy rooms and a gym surround a covered courtyard creating a secure communal space which supports pupil development on a number of different levels. Their requirements for both privacy from the outside world and public life by way of peer group interaction are subtly balanced by this architectural dialectic.
The language of the form is similarly dialectical. The building is explicitly asymmetrical, perhaps referring to van Eyck’s Orphanage. Classrooms can be interpreted as static boxes which interlock with horizontal planes of the circulation decks, strapped tentatively onto the sides and top of the walls. This conjunction of light and heavy are 160the key ideas. At the end of the classroom link at second floor, the director’s meeting area overlooks the park landscape. It controls the surrounding vistas, asserting the importance of the individuals who use the building. Self-esteem flows, perhaps as a result of this languid and complex form. 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/figcs7_1_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> 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/figcs7_2_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
Entrance
Communal space
Classroom
Gym
Playroom
First 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/figcs7_3_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>Gallery over entrance
Meeting area
Classroom
Gym (upper part)
Office
Second 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/figcs7_4_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>Gallery access
Linked classrooms
WC/cloakroom area
The staircase is a safe ‘obstacle' part of the internal landscape as it cascades down to the internal courtyard. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs7_5_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> The internal courtyard, a cool neutral backdrop prior to the introduction of furniture and people. Note the theatrical steps on the left side. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs7_6_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Studies in the development of its three-dimensional form, a subtle interplay between solid and void. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs7_7_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>