112 SCHOOLS
area. Head says: ‘Te kids took to it very quickly. We even had NBC news come and report on it back to the US.’
Head’s team is now developing a modular 2m version of the marquee, which can be shipped in units and therefore doesn’t require HGV transportation. ‘It can be driven directly onto a field, be put up quickly, and offer really good daylight levels and ventilation.’ A self-powering version combining photovoltaics and air source heat pumps is being explored as well.
Te demand has not abated much in 2021, he says. ‘We’re continuing to deploy
In the absence of pop-ups or new extensions, furniture has become a major focus for schools during and between lockdowns
appropriate versions of marquee-like structures to school sites. We help with site inspection and placement according to orientation for light, wind and efficiency. It’s part of our social value contribution to the situation.’
In the absence of pop-ups or new extensions, furniture has become a major focus for schools during and between lockdowns, as KI furniture’s education director Kevin Geeves noted: ‘During the first wave of the pandemic, all educational furniture manufacturers experienced a significant slump as an element of panic set
CASE STUDY THE SKINNERS’ SCHOOL
The Skinners’ School is a traditional state grammar school in Tunbridge Wells, the success and popularity of which gave rise to an opportunity for expansion.
A new sixth form building was part funded by Kent County Council and the school’s own fundraising initiatives, after Bell Phillips’ masterplan identified the optimal location on the school’s campus. It replaces an old and redundant gymnasium sandwiched between two of the three notable, Victorian Gothic structures on the site; a new sports hall had recently been constructed at the opposite end. Though the budget was tight for the desired programme – sixth form teaching and recreation spaces on the ground floor, a second floor which houses the English department and a top floor dedicated to library and extra learning spaces – its frontage along the historic building line on the main road meant that ‘it came with quite a responsibility to do something architecturally worthy,’ as director Tim Bell says. The adjacent main school building, from 1889, is famed for its buttressed hall and timber-trussed roof. These and other elements of the notable buildings are referenced in the composition of the new block – specifically, dominant vertical proportions and strongly articulated gable ends. Window jambs along the street front facade are formed by brick columns turned through 45º, referencing existing triangular motifs.
As for interior layouts, Bell Phillips worked closely with the sixth form head, the librarians and the English department. Although the 200m2
This image The new building is sandwiched between two of the three Victorian Gothic structures on the site
Right An acoustic engineer was brought in to design the library’s high ceiling to ensure maximum quietness
ground floor sixth form is ‘not the brightest space,’ as Bell says, somewhat overshadowed by tall buildings nearby, it is dual aspect, with good floor to ceiling height, and looks south onto a courtyard garden and north onto the school’s shared courtyard playground. Flexibility is
achieved with a mix of formal, intimate and informal study spaces. The English department occupies the first floor, with two rows of classrooms either side of a single corridor. But all classrooms are still dual aspect, thanks to borrowed light via glazed panels between corridor and classroom. Bell says: ‘It embodies that idea of a studio, a serious place to work and learn, but they are bright and light, thermally very stable (thanks to the building’s concrete frame). And acoustics are very good – there are acoustic rafts over the concrete. They also have heat recovery ventilators, which push air deep into the plan and keep oxygen levels up, helping concentration and keeping people alert.’
The circulation strategy allows students to move around the ground floor via the courtyard, while two staircases – a main staircase as well as a secondary one – enable one-way trafic to the first and second floors.
Here, the library is the focal point, enjoying the full height of the pitched roof. Timber panels create a material richness in this bright and airy space. Acoustic performance was key, and an acoustic engineer was brought in to bespoke design the ceiling for maximum quietness. Bell explains: ‘The very top of the building is the quietest point. You get great views there over the near ground of Tunbridge Wells to the North Downs.’
Client The Skinners’ School
Architect Bell Phillips Architects Area 1,187m2 Cost £3.25m Opened Autumn 2020
Consultants Built Engineers (Structural Engineer); Hilson Moran (M&E); Gleeds (QS); Velfac (Glazing); IG Lintels (Structural Fabrication); Brookmill Blend – Traditional Brick and Stone (Brick supplier); Red Grandis, North Quay Trading (Timber Suppliers); Serota, Oasis Design (FF&E)
ALL IMAGES: KILIAN O’SULLIVAN
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