SCHOOL DESIGN 123


building, but with a new head and assistant head, and additional support staff and youth workers in place, the local authority’s learning and culture scrutiny committee meeting was told ‘the atmosphere at the school was very calm’.


More input from staff and pupils, as was the norm in the days of BSF but seems to now be strongly discouraged by some local authorities, might help to avoid such difficult transitions into a new building. ‘Better, more


relevant design solutions come from a strong stakeholder engagement beginning in the early stages of design,’ says Stebbins. ‘Architects are not sociologists, but we are good listeners.’ Richard Cottrell agrees: ‘Designing for the school and its users needs meeting, talking and understanding; working hand-in-hand to create the building they will walk into. I would like to see more listening to the teachers so we design a building that meets and understands their needs.’


Te BSF days of unlimited budgets


and total creative freedom have gone, but even within today’s restrictions, outstanding schools are still possible, says Wayne Head. ‘Tere’s a middle ground between BSF and just following the bulletin – design can have a rich impact for just a little bit more effort. It doesn’t always need more money, sometimes it just needs a little injection of architectural imagination, but not an overdose!’


Left and below


L’École de l’Étincelle, Quebec City, Canada


L’École de l’Étincelle in Quebec City, Canada, is the result of an architectural competition to create an eco-friendly school, rooted in the local culture. The winning architectural approach aimed to deconstruct the


conventional school, with its institutional buildings, and transform it into a friendly, accessible, and welcoming environment for children, with a domestic scale to encourage students to love school and to feel like they’re at home. Classrooms are placed in three cottages, linked with social areas, and there’s an inner courtyard for sport and outdoor learning, naturally sheltered against the prevailing winds.


Architect APPAREIL Architecture/Agence Spatiale/BGLA Architecture


Client Commission Scolaire des Rives du Saguenay


Structural engineer Eckersley O’Callaghan


Contractor AMEC Construction Far left


Bellenden Primary School, Peckham


Bellenden Primary School sits on a tight triangular site with housing on all sides. On a similar scale to the residential streets, the canary yellow polycarbonate cladding sets it apart. Ground floor corridors have been designed out, with the classrooms, assembly/ dining hall and external stairwells all accessed from covered areas in the


playground. First floor terraces provide classrooms with dedicated outdoor learning spaces, while a larger terrace for quiet play is accessed by a stair from the central courtyard. The school is wrapped in a grey brick wall, punctuated with windows and portholes.


Architect Cottrell & Vermeulen


Client London Borough of Southwark


Structural engineer Waterman Structures


Main contractor Morgan Sindall


THIS IMAGE AND ABOVE: MAXIME BROUILLET


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