Project Brief
The Highland Council Housing and Property Service have been commissioned by Education Culture and Sport to design and procure a new primary school which combines both Conon Bridge and Maryburgh Primary Schools in a new building on the existing Conon Bridge Primary School site.
Design Solution
This is a ten classroom primary school with the classrooms arranged in two wings perpendicular to the main wing of the building creating the external courtyard and playground spaces. the main wing fronts on to the main access and acts as part of the secure barrier to the playgrounds and the rest of the school. Contained within this wing are the nursery, wrap-a-round care, library, admin, community, dining, kitchen and sports facilities.
All the accommodation is linked with a spine corridor which runs the length of each wing creating simple and clearly defined circulation paths to aid way finding. the corridors and class room have maximised glazing to enhance the key views in and out of the building. The corridors and classrooms also have external breakout spaces which open out into the secure playground and courtyard areas allowing interaction between internal and external environments.
The school has been designed with the potential for future expansion of up to three additional classrooms.
The building has been orientated to allow the playground and courtyard spaces to take advantage of the inspirational views and to ensure the teaching spaces make good use of the sun paths throughout the day. The car parking and drop off areas are located to the front of the building and will be landscaped to reduce their visual impact.
The design endeavours to create generous spaces which are well lit with natural day lighting and naturally ventilated where practical. Roof lights will be fitted to the deeper rooms to provide both natural daylight to the back of the rooms and natural cross ventilation. Many of the internal spaces are also adaptable to accommodate any changing functions of the school. A study by California's public interest energy research programme found that students learning progressed 20% faster in maths and 26% faster in reading in classrooms with the highest levels of day lighting.
It is the intention that the pupil, nursery, staff and visitor entrances are welcoming and clearly defined. The security of the school will be designed in such a way that it is not detrimental to the character of the building and good outlook will be provided for monitoring of all areas of the school.
The existing school building will be demolished to make way for a new flood lit, synthetic, outdoor, multi use games area for both school and community use.
Scale, Impact and Appearance
The school is a single storey building throughout. The finished floor level has been established to respond to the topography of the site landscape. In order to reduce the scale of the building and its visual impact a low ridge height and roof pitch have been designed and the building will sit low in the landscape.
The building has been designed to respond sensitively to the surroundings but also to create its own identity and civic standing in the community. The style and regional distinctiveness for the building has been designed for its setting by reflecting the traditional building types commonly found in its rural surroundings. This has been reinforced with the use of a simple palette of materials.
The scale of the building elements have been articulated to define function without being overwhelming for the pupils. Break out spaces have been provided both internally and externally to create more intimate and informal areas for pupils to get together and relax.
Deep overhangs have been provided to the roof above the glazed corridors to the prevent these areas from overheating and also to provide areas for children to shelter in the event of adverse weather.
Outdoor spaces will be landscaped with a varied range of surface textures and outdoor furniture and the design of the building provides areas of special architectural interest such as the projecting timber boxes and seating which will aim to stimulate outdoor learning and promote social interaction.