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News Release from: The Building Centre | Subject: Londons Learning
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 01 November 2007
New exhibition inspires future school
design
London's Learning, a new exhibition from the Building Centre, highlights current and future examples of education and learning environments.
London's Learning: New exhibition to inspire future school design A Building Centre /New London Architecture exhibition
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 29 Jul 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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London's Learning, a new exhibition from the Building Centre, highlights current and future examples of education and learning environments and asks whether we are designing the right schools now to meet the needs of learning in 20 years' time?.
As the UK is currently experiencing the single largest school building investment programme for 50 years, the exhibition draws parallels between the Victorian and post-war school building programmes and today's current investment initiatives.
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2007 at the Building Centre
The 2007 programme at the Building Centre boasts an impressive line up of topical exhibitions, talks and seminars for the built environment.
Architects Pocket Book
Available from The Building Centre bookshop, it includes data about planning, structure, services, building elements, materials and addresses, for use both at the drawing board and on site.
It examines how school architecture has changed to reflect educational practice and features design ideas for the learning environments of the future.
London's Learning features 30 exemplar case-studies from London and the UK.
These projects are intended to inspire all those involved in school design - from architects and developers to pupils and teachers.
They show that talented designers and enlightened clients can create inspiring places in which to teach and learn.
Opening the exhibition, John Sorrell, chair of CABE and co-founder of the Sorrell Foundation, said: "I am convinced that pupils - the consumers of education - have a vital role to play in the overall client teams for every project".
"If we can use the wealth of the UK's design talent and join it up with the consumers of education we stand a better chance of giving our children some of the best schools in the world".
Andrew Scoones, a director of the Building Centre commented: "The construction industry has put massive resources behind the current building programme and we now have a much clearer idea of the technical solutions needed to deliver a sustainable education estate".
"There is a clear view that this is deployed most successfully where the aspirations of the end-users are engaged thoroughly in the design and development process, not just for the benefit of individual schools but also for the broader built environment around them".
Ty Goddard, Director of British Council for School Environments commented: "We are asking our schools (and teachers) to do so much more in an ever more crowded and pressurised world".
"These learning environments are as important as our homes, offices and places of leisure".
"They should be treated as such".
"Our schools need care, attention, research and love".
"This key moment in education is a unique opportunity to design, deliver and equip buildings that are capable of supporting education reform, new children's services and welcoming communities".
London's Learning pins down essential lessons for everyone involved in planning new schools.
Through case-studies, the exhibition will examine projects in detail to demonstrate how design and construction are addressing today's major issues - security, access, flexibility, sustainability, health, behaviour, performance, attendance funding and increasing land prices - which often get ignored.
In the week that the government has issued its response to the Education and Skills Committee report, Are we building the schools for the future? The exhibition and talks series will open the debate asking, how can we make the most of this opportunity without repeating the mistakes of the past?.
Is the design quality of the schools we are producing now good enough to transform children's education? Or could we and should we do better?.
***** Case-studies ******.
Allford Hall Monaghan Morris's Westminster Academy situated near the Westway flyover in West London is sliced by a raised pedestrian bridge clad in mesh fabric and coloured lights which maintains the public right of way through to the south side of the railway cutting.
The Main Building and Sports Hall are split to allow separate community use of the latter and reduce the mass of the overall scheme in context.
Avanti Architects' 1st Place Children and Parents' Centre in Southwark adopts a number of sustainable initiatives, including: utilising a brownfield site; use of salvaged and 'offcut' material; photovoltaic panels, high levels of insulation; natural ventilation; low energy lighting; sustainably sourced timber windows and cladding and an ecology garden.
BDP's Bridge Academy's location on a constrained brownfield site along the Regent's Canal has driven the design of an innovative vertical school where each roof space offers useful learning spaces.
The school buildings are split into three elements which are unified through multilevel landscaping incorporating a sports terrace and hanging garden terrace which act as social gathering spaces, taking performance and learning outdoors.
Cazenove Architects' Abbey Children's Centre is an iconic building situated on a strategic corner of Barking Town Centre's 'Regeneration' programme.
The building wraps around the corner of the site creating a hard boundary to the pavement edge and forms an inhabited wall protecting the childrens' play area behind.
The spaces within the building overlook both the public zone of the street, offering security and visual permeability to passing pedestrians.
Gumuchdjian Architects' expansion for St Marylebone School's had to deal with its location within most expensive real estate in the UK.
Their innovative solution was to build down - locating the PE/Drama facility below the existing playground.
The underground facility opens onto a lower courtyard that provides daylight and fresh air and dispels the typical negative impressions of below ground development.
Haverstock Associates vertical extension of an existing 1960s school in Lambeth has adopted a light-weight steel structure with prefabricated timber infill to minimize the weight.
The first storey will be predominantly clad with timber and glass to reflect the existing building fabric.
This creates a 'floating' effect above the existing building.
The roofs will also add greenness to this urban residential area and will present a pleasant view to the overlooking neighbouring buildings.
Penoyre and Prasad LLP pioneering "extended school" combines a local library and secondary school as well as housing the Croydon Music Service, the Continuing Education and Training Service, and community sports facilities.
The library has seen attendance rise and vandalism decline, while the school reports improved behaviour and sense of purpose.
Wilkinson Eyre Architect's kit-of-parts approach can be seen at their new John Madejski Academy in South Reading.
Generic teaching spaces have been separated from areas with more specialist technical requirements.
These have been modified to suit the specific curriculum demands of the new Academy, which has a sports specialism, as well as the site context.
Wilkinson Eyre Architect's Bristol's Brunel Academy which opened in September is the first school in the UK to be completed under the BSF initiative.
***** Wednesday Morning Talks sponsored by Construction Skills ******.
The exhibition and related talk series offers architects and developers the opportunity to discuss the challenges of school building as well as inviting education professionals and the public to join the debate.
The talks will place special emphasis on the secondary sector where different approaches to procurement and design will be explored.
Breakfast is available from 8am, all talks start at 8.30am.
Confirmed speakers include:.
7 November: London's Learning.
Paul Monaghan, Partner, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris.
14 November: Great Schools By Design.
Ronald Bogle, Hon AIA, CEO and President, American Architectural Foundation.
21 November: Designing Academies: Options and Strategies.
Paul Kalkhoven, Senior Partner, Foster and Partners.
28 November: New ways of funding and designing schools.
Andrew Beharrell, Pollard Thomas Edwards architect.
5 December: Building the first BSF School.
Stafford Critchlow, Wilkinson Eyre and Jonathan Ibikunle, Design Manager, Partnerships for Schools.
12 December: Corporate Space and Learning Space: Learning from Each Other.
Professor Stephen Heppell, Heppell.net .
19 December: Building Better Schools.
Chair: David Long, Davis Langdon with contributions from BCSE members .
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