Brief 

To extend an existing primary School to create a new Childrens Centre providing wrap-around care for early years children through to Primary school education. The Centre incorporates Sure Start , private nursery and school foundation areas together with offices and parent / community meeting areas and after-school clubs. The brief also required us to assess which of the two existing buildings (previously Infant or Junior) was most suitable for extension taking into account location on site, internal layout and condition of building fabric.

Solution

The new building was grafted onto the main entrance of the existing Junior school which already contained the plant room and kitchen facilities. This enabled a fresh new entrance to be created which uplifts the arrival into the School and Centre, The Centre is arranged around a landscaped courtyard which provides a safe outdoor space for the children and helps bring natural light into all areas of the building. The childrens rooms spill out to the external areas which are provided with canopy shading and brightly coloured safety surfaces. Our Interior Designer worked closely with the children and School project team to design a philosophy for the interiors which would be welcoming, calming or stimulating as appropriate to the use of space.

Client

Redcar & Cleveland BC

Project value 

£1.6M