AECB Member – Architype
Wilkinson Primary School, Wolverhampton was announced as the winner in the ‘Large Projects’ category at the UK Passivhaus Awards 2015, organised by the Passivhaus Trust.
Project Overview
Architype’s successful history of delivery schools for Wolverhampton City Council led to a repeat commission to replace an existing school that had fallen victim to an arson attack in 2010.
Previously Architype had persuaded the client to adopt the Passivhaus standard on Oak Meadow and Bushbury Hill Primary Schools (the 1st Passivhaus schools in the UK). Following the success of these schools, the client insisted upon Passivhaus for Wilkinson Primary. The client’s full support and understanding of the standard has truly enhanced the possibilities of the design and building performance.
The new design takes the school from 1.5 form entry to 2-form entry, accommodating 430 pupils. The school also requires space for a 30-place nursery and flexible space available out of hours as part of the community outreach developed in the brief.
Design Intent
Some of the key design aspirations included:
· Expressing the character and atmosphere of the school in line with the feedback from consultation and the schools future plans.
· Creating a dynamic range of stimulating spaces for teaching and learning that enable staff to teach according to modern pedagogies, providing flexibility for change and sustainability in the short and long term.
· Achieving effective but unobtrusive security for pupils and staff that would help the users to feel safe in their new school and look forward to a new chapter of the schools history.
· Ensuring that ancillary support and circulation spaces are optimised to work simply and effectively
· Creating a delightful, airy and uplifting building made from natural, sustainable materials, that wherever possible are low-carbon, recycled and free from toxins, for an ecologically conscientious building that contributes to user well-being.
· Maximising natural daylight and ventilation, to create
· A healthy internal environment that delivers superior levels of comfort
· Designing a building that will be a legacy to the community, with communal facilities that will enable ownership and local pride.
· Achieving a high level of quality to be reflected throughout the design and finish of the building.
Response To Brief
The building has been rationalised with Key Stage 1 and nursery on the ground floor and Key Stage 2 on the first floor, with shared hall facilities and external soft play areas. The inclusive design focuses on a central ‘hub’ space, allowing for flexibility and accommodating a range of learning techniques; focused learning, quiet break out and messy play.
A number of other design environmental considerations have been implemented into the design of Wilkinson to improve the overall site performance and the building’s environmental impact. For example, the existing multi use games area has been reused and as much green space as possible has been maintained to support a rich biodiversity. A large number of bird and bat boxes populate the site, situated in the trees and main building.
Located in the Black Country, the site is a former iron works from the industrial revolution; an old forge was identified, restricting the location of the foundations. To avoid extensive remediation, the new build footprint was placed in the same location as the previous. The exterior cladding of Corten and Weinerberger clay tiles are a contemporary response to the industrial heritage, in stark contrast with Architype’s usual natural material, which is instead applied to the interior.
With respect the building design; the south facing canopies have been strategically angled the at 15 ° to reflect winter sunlight onto the internal ceiling and into the heart of the building through the high level clerestory windows.
As considerate contractors, Thomas Vale implemented a robust waste management strategy, with a focus on reducing the amount of waste produced from site.