colours – they thought that was condescending and wanted it to be a civic building that was for children, so quite subdued and gallery- like so the children’s work would stand out as the focus.
‘Te design can and should speak to a specific community; there’s no one-size-fits- all, what works in one community wouldn’t necessarily work in another. For example, Edith Neville was in a very tight urban area, where 80% of pupils lived in flats, so we put a
‘We’ve had a reduction in behaviour incidents, we see an improvement in communication from the pupils and generally… pupils are happier’
special focus on outside space so those pupils get the chance to exercise their motor skills and run around. Te school had an English country garden with trees and a quiet area, and logs to climb over – children living in King’s Cross don’t get to clamber over things on a regular basis and it prompts different types of play opportunities. But you wouldn’t do that in a rural community where many children live in houses with back gardens and have easy access to the countryside.’