The overall form and massing of the building was developed in conjunction with the end users, representatives from the planning authorities and from the nature ofthe spaces required in a 2FE school. In order to differentiate between the different functions of the various parts of the building, a clear strategy was developed for each of the spaces, and how they will beidentified architecturally. The building consists of two main elements; a curved portion facing onto Cotswold Road, and the rectilinear blocks on the opposite side within the centre of the site. These two elements, although complimentary, have different uses. The decision was taken to differentiate between their uses both in terms of the materials used in their construction and their architectural form.The curved portion of the building houses the common areas such as the reception and entrance, staffroom and office, the library, kitchen, hall and energy centre. Some of these spaces are also intended to be opened up to some limited use by the community in the evenings.
The nature of these spaces is therefore different to the teaching spaces contained within the blocks of accommodation at the rear. The curved building will be used by adults as well as children, and by members of the public as well as children and staff. This is in contrast to the teaching blocks, which are intended to be much more child orientated spaces. The curve is the point at which access to the school is controlled and filtered; movement beyond the secure line at the rear of this curvedbuilding is strictly by invitation only.
This front portion of the building, although generally one storey in height, will be of a slightly larger scale and mass than the teaching spaces to the rear. The mainexception to this will be the assembly halls, both of the halls will be a double height space. The building height has been manipulated by the use of a greater floor tofloor height and the use of a brise soleil along this entire façade to create a more visually impressive building which will have a significant presence on Cotswold Road.The shared nature of the internal spaces is also expressed through the use of higher ceilings within the building.Whilst this curve forms the public face of the school, it was considered important to allow some glimpses both into the courtyards spaces beyond and the commonspaces within it. The curve will be a solid element with a degree of transparency, with large windows being punched into the curved walls to allow views of theactivities and spaces within the building. These windows create visual interest at ground level, allowing limited views into the site and creating a direct visualconnection to the outside world.A number of different construction materials were examined for this element. Brickwork was eventually chosen as the ideal material to form the curve as it gives thebuilding a sense of permanence and solidity as well as reflecting the material of much of the surrounding housing stock. The brickwork will be heavily textured and itis envisaged that a light coloured brick will be used to contrast with the housing. The exact colour and brick type will be agreed in consultation with the local authorityplanners.As the curved façade is orientated to the south, solar shading is required to protect the internal spaces from overheating.
A brise soleil has been introduced along the southern façade and this shelters the building from excessive solar heat gain during the summer months. The brise soleilwill be constructed from a series of vertical slats following the curve of the building. The opportunity was taken to form a colonnade along the front of the buildings byextending the main roof out over the walkway and locating the brise soleil at this outer point.
The brise soleil has many functions. It shades the building, unifies the external appearance of the curved elevation, and also provides a sheltered walkway from thecar park to the main entrance. The slats will add another level of aesthetic interest as they cast shadows onto the brickwork, providing an interesting pattern of lightand shade which will change continuously though the day.The slats are likely to be formed from timber or an engineered timber although other materials such as aluminium would also be suitable. Timber is preferred for anumber of reasons; not only is it sustainable and natural, but it also creates a direct link with the name of the school. As the school will be called Oakwood Primary, itwas desirable that the construction of the building should in some way be reflected in its name.A flat roof will form the roof of the curved section, and it will be covered with an extensive sedum green roof system. Air handling units serving the hall and kitchen willbe located on this flat roof (refer to the roof plan) but they will be obscured by extending the brickwork parapet wall and solar shading upwards to hide them.The use of colour has also been carefully considered in the design of the building. Colour is very important for children and its use was considered essential to preventthe school from feeling institutional and monochromatic. Coloured glazing has been introduced along the front facade.In contrast to the curved building, the teaching blocks on the courtyard side are rectangular in shape and are intended to have a reduced scale that reinforces thechild-centric use within. The classrooms adjacent to the surrounding houses are purposefully smaller, both to relate to surrounding houses (along Coronation Roadand Fir Tree Lane) and to create a cosier, more intimate feel to the classrooms.
To distinguish between the two areas, a mono pitch roof clad in a metal standing seam system covers each of the classrooms blocks. This roof will be partially extended to form the cover over the external teaching areas. Above the central corridor whichhas a lower level flat roof, clerestory windows have been introduced at high level. These will to allow an excellent quality of daylight within the classrooms, and also to allow the classrooms to be ventilated naturally. Cool fresh air will be drawn in at low level windows along the external wall, and by the use of cross ventilation the warm stale air exhausted through the clerestory windows at high level.The external walls of the classrooms are finished in a combination of timber board cladding and glazing a polyester powder coated aluminium and timber composite window system. Each of the classrooms will have a bifold door arrangement within this glazed screen allowing the classroom to open up to the external learning areas.
