Classroom Design:Layout 1 11/09/2009 14:18 Page 22
classroom design classroom design
The circular classroom
The £4m Abergwynfi Primary School has created a landmark for the former Afan Valley
mining village. The school’s distinctive circular buildings come into view long before you arrive.
Use of circular
classrooms brings
the teacher into the
room without the
stigma of front and
back of the class
A
LTHOUGH the school will have a classrooms built onto the existing ones
large playing field and MUGA, the wouldn’t look like an afterthought. We
available building site was limited to were also uncertain as to the final size
a relatively small triangular area by virtue and community requirements in the early
of mine working infill and a river which stages, so our feasibility study took
passes underground near to the existing account of potentially removing as well as
infant school building. A feasibility study adding pods from the plans.”
considered extending the existing 70s flat It is the shape of the building and also
roof buildings but demolition was found the geology of the site that influenced
to be more economic, says Neath Port the specification of building materials.
Talbot Council’s principal architectural Zinc was used for the 'pod' classroom
manager Jonathan Morris. “As part of the roofs, cladding of connecting corridor
Afan Valley Strategy programme we also walls and guttering system.
wanted to develop a school with
community use as a primary Patina
consideration and there was no intrinsic The school has been designed to
benefit in upgrading such a structure. achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating and
the argument for use of zinc was
Wings powerful by virtue of its recyclability and
“It was decided to create seven guaranteed performance. Development
classrooms accommodating up to 210 over time of an attractive, natural, self-
pupils, in addition to a central hall, IT protecting patina means it will continue
suite, libraries, offices, a nursery with its to add focus to the design while requiring
own access and of course car parking. We virtually no maintenance.
developed the concept of two wings from The standing seam system from VM
a large central hall using circular buildings Zinc has been installed at pitches
to make the teaching more inclusive.” between 3° and 15° on roofs ranging in
The hall and community classrooms height from 3.5 - 12.5 metres. A vapour
form the core of the building and have control layer with the membrane and two
been designed in such a way that the types of insulation were used, and
central hub can be closed off from the windows open in the roof automatically in
remaining school area, while the use of order to offset temperature increase and
circular classrooms brings the teacher reduce CO2 levels when necessary.
into the room without the stigma of front
and back of the class, Morris explains.
“For practical reasons, the cluster
www.vmzinc.co.uk
approach meant that any additional
22 edbmagazine.co.uk
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