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ROTHERHITHE PRIMARY SCHOOL, LONDON
“Spaces with irregular shapes occur at the point on the site where there is a shift in geometry” Helen Roberts, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
FCBStudios had recently completed a South London secondary school, The Charter School East Dulwich, working with an academy trust and Southwark Council, and was working with council planners on developing school design standards across the Borough.
Rotherhithe Primary School “presented a further opportunity for the practice to build on that relationship and extend its considerable portfolio of carefully crafted educational buildings,” says Roberts.
Design, development & form Galiema Amien-Cloete, executive headteacher of Rotherhithe Primary School, praised the architects’ approach to the briefing and design development process, saying they “listened intently” to what she had to say.
From starting the project in October
2017, the FCBStudios team visited the school many times as part of the design process, observing and engaging in extensive dialogue with the council, school leadership, teachers and maintenance personnel. Key priorities identified during this process included the need for new learning spaces to accommodate modern teaching
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methods, creating much more effective internal paths to manage the flow of pupils, and making the entrance more welcoming and effective. “We also documented valued elements such as the generous halls, visual connections with courtyards and landscape,” says Roberts. They had been impressed “by the inventiveness of their adaptations to the [existing] building, including improvised break-out spaces carved out of corridors for small group or 1:1 learning support.”
The FCBStudios team also embraced the school’s commitment to displaying artworks, murals and mosaics which celebrated the school’s diverse community, and links to Rotherhithe’s maritime and industrial past.
These elements were worked into the designs, helping bring a grounding and familiarity to the new building. In the new school, the spacious entrance foyer acts as a ‘garden room’ for parents, children, staff and visitors, offering a place to welcome guests, hold community gatherings and mount displays to celebrate the children’s work, as well as providing multi-purpose teaching and assembly space.
ADF MAY 2024
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