ABSTRACT
The architect has adopted a simple organizing principle which is an elliptical red brick wall to the street enclosing the new accommodation. On approaching, the gentle curve reveals itself gradually, slightly accentuating the natural curve of the street, encouraging the visitor to move from one end of the shape to the other. At the west end the main entrance porch protrudes out from behind the brick skin. Within the building a structural grid of solid internal walls and floors establishes a rhythm along the entire length of the plan. It is an appropriate metaphor, that of ordered stability.
Inside, the connections between the old and the new parts are subtle; materials flow one into the other, the three separate 1950s blocks seamlessly attaching themselves to the new classroom wing. The palette of 220materials is limited yet creates a warm purposive atmosphere, with granite floors, in-situ concrete stairwells and light timber doors. Inside the classrooms, walls are white rendered; however, the rhythm of the grid is clearly stated, with exposed concrete beams spanning the space from the rear corridor grid to the curved external wall. It all adds up to a highly successful balance between old and new; proof perhaps that it is most difficult to be simple. Ground floor plan: entrance (e), reception (r), Internet cafe (c), classrooms (cl), seminar rooms (s). https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs17_2_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> First floor plan: library (lib), classrooms (cl), science blocks (s), office (o), headteacher (h). https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs17_3_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Second floor plan: library upper level (lib), science rooms (sc), demonstration rooms (d), art suite (a). https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs17_4_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Conceptual perspective showing the new wall with existing teaching blocks hooked onto the back. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs17_5_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> The spaces between the existing blocks are enclosed on one side by the new extension to form delightful south-facing courtyards overlooked by balconies and staircases. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs17_6_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> (Photo: © R. Görner.) The escape staircase penetrates the wall at its eastern end, a symbolic reference to the demise of the Berlin Wall, with its social and political divisions. The new school integrates children from the former East with their Western counterparts, a difficult transformation made easier by the new environment. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs17_7_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> (Photo: © R. Görner.) The entrance foyer with durable finishes, exposed fair-faced concrete and brickwork for ceilings, walls and floors, an appropriate threshold between inside and outside. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780080499291/f70b01ec-99da-4e86-a882-bbb9f643b2de/content/figcs17_8_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> (Photo: © R. Görner.)
