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that would have stood its fluctuating pandemic population in good stead – no overheating, no overcrowding in narrow passageways nor restless confinement without easy access to outdoor roaming opportunities.
But the principles of designing schools for optimal wellbeing, which underpins Bellenden’s structure and form, are nothing new. Te Scandinavians – most prominently Finland’s Alvar and Aino Aalto – were proving the benefits of such an approach for health and well-being nearly 100 years ago. It’s just a shame that, over the past century,
so many politicians’ and policy-makers’ willingness to understand and apply those principles for the benefit of their pupil population has been so intermittent. Tye Farrow is a Canadian architect whose practice Farrow Partners has won multiple awards for its organic, curving timber structures, through which it has successfully improved the experience of healthcare, hospitality and education buildings for over two decades, from Canada to the Middle East. Most recently, Farrow added to his understanding about what aspects of architecture best generate well-being by
completing a master’s in neuroscience applied to architecture at the University of Venice. One of his key discoveries, he tells me, is the importance of environments where your sightlines are not linear or inwards, but where the design invites you to look up and away from the prescribed corridor pathways or classroom whiteboard to be stimulated by middle and, ideally, long-distance vistas. Tis blend of ‘voluntary and involuntary perception’ can come from views onto trees, planting or landscapes, but Farrow also believes that buildings enliven the mind when they provide a range of different geometries.
CASE STUDY
HACKNEY NEW PRIMARY SCHOOL
The brief sounds far from ideal: a 350-pupil primary school funded by the sale of luxury flats on the same site. But Henley Halebrown has somehow turned a tricky situation into a positive advantage, by condensing the flats into a handsome, 11-storey tower and placing it on the busier side of the site to act as a noise and pollution buffer for the school, while also improving the appearance of that street. And the school itself exudes civic pride, sociability and legibility. Circulation is placed almost entirely outside, thanks to stairs, covered walkways and galleries arranged around a central courtyard, whose walls are clad in a creamy ceramic tile, brightening this introverted aspect even on a dull day and contrasting with the terracotta tones that unite both school exterior and apartment block. By removing corridors from the equation, classrooms are bigger than the mean provision set by current government space standards. These are arranged, in paired blocks of four, along the
longest, three-storey elevation, with reception and nursery on the ground floor. The street-front elevation contains a two-storey hall with single-storey kitchen to the rear and a staff room above. The hall has no windows on the ground floor, to ensure privacy; instead, lighting comes from a clerestory window. The block that adjoins these two incorporates music and drama rooms, as well as toilets. Administrative ofices and out of hours reception are tucked under the flats, while large bronze gates give access to and from the school at the start and end of each day.
Banishing corridors and maximising outdoor and ‘liminal’ space has long been a focus for Henley Halebrown. Simon Henley says: ‘it’s about imprinting social infrastructure through architecture.’ An obvious manifestation is the circulation around the courtyard. Another is the long, low bench incorporated into the hall’s street-facing exterior, which gives parents somewhere to sit. Equally thoughtful is the arrangement of classroom windows. Each classroom has its own glazed door, accompanied by a narrow window, which can be
shuttered to allow for quick conversations between teachers and other staff or parents. There are two further windows for each classroom: the larger, central one is set deep to offer exterior seating within the window frame, while the adjacent one is inset in reverse to create an interior window seat within each classroom’s reading corner.
Classrooms are large, with wooden beams framing skylights at upper levels. Meanwhile, the roof has been given over to planters and a ‘mud kitchen’, so the children can learn about growing their own food.
Client Joint venture with Benyon Estate and developer Thornsett
Funding Education and Skills Funding Agency for Hackney New Primary School Trust
Architect Henley Halebrown Area 8,535m2 Cost £26m Completed 2020 Structural engineer Techniker
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