036 PROJECT 1 PROJECT INFO
Client Cayman Islands government
Architect and interior designer
Jestico + Whiles
Executive architect Chalmers Gibbs
Size 15,322m2
Completion January 2024
KEY SUPPLIERS
Flooring Tarkett
tarkett.co.uk Cifre Cerámica
cifreceramica.com Junckers
junckers.co.uk
Lighting Signify
signify.com Finelite
finelite.com Truly Green Solutions
trulygreensolutions.com
Furniture Virco
the island context, particularly in terms of construction logistics, climate resilience, and the hazards posed by both hurricanes and earthquakes.’
While repurposing the part-completed buildings was an aspiration, the practice’s extensive consultation with the whole school community, including students, parents of students, staff, and government and education authorities underpin the school’s design. The result is a building that is a flexible hub for staff, students and the community, which John Gray High School now sits at the heart of. Before its oficial opening, the school was already being used for events, celebrations and sporting occasions. A single entrance provides access directly into the building’s ‘heart’ at the joining point of each of the wings. Soft landscaping and the external spaces that surround the classrooms are an essential part of the building’s success – with courtyards providing social gathering spaces and shading structures to create enjoyable rest spaces for students and staff alike. Marston says: ‘We undertook extensive consultation with the school community to ensure the new design embodies their ambitions. We held workshops with students, staff and parents using a variety of tools to get their input in effectively co-designing the new school. The new building integrates seamlessly with the refurbished abandoned structures into a cohesive whole. It incorporates facilities not available anywhere else in the country with a blend of traditional and flexible learning spaces for breakout and independent learning. The flow of the new building, the interconnectivity and the sense of community are the most pleasing aspects of the design. It has transformed educational opportunities for the young people of Grand Cayman.’
The building’s ‘heart’ is a domed, timber- lined library suspended above an open-plan canteen. It will act as a gathering place for the school’s different departments, during break
times but also throughout the day. The northern wing contains general teaching space for English, humanities, Spanish and business departments, while the southern wing contains maths, science, design and technology, and the western wing serves the visual arts and performing arts departments. With flexible teaching and learning in mind, each of the three wings features a combination of generous breakout areas and small group rooms. Staff ofices within the building have been distributed to create good sightlines and passive supervision, creating an eficient new school layout that enhances the safeguarding of students while also encouraging positive student behaviour. The quality of design and attention to detail is designed to create an uplifting environment for the pupils – in contrast to the standard state school offer in a region where the majority of pupils attend private school. The curved form of the new building element is the overarching design driver stitching together the four existing structures and conveying some of the same gestural language as the swooping roof forms of the existing buildings. The horizontality of the façade is broken by a regular staccato rhythm of vertical louvres, which also serve to control solar gain and glare throughout the day. The scheme also incorporates rainwater collection and on-site solar generation, while the extensive landscaping includes indigenous planting, which substantially reduces the need for irrigation.
‘It has been hugely rewarding to continue to hone our approach to designing education projects internationally, tapping into the specific needs and priorities of the John Gray school community,’ comments Marston. ‘The opportunity to creatively reimagine the existing assets into one unified space that works for everyone led us to the consultative approach. We look forward to seeing our other schools’ projects with the Cayman Islands government develop over the next few years.’
virco.com KI
ki.com/
kieurope.com Bisley
bisley.com Frovi
frovidesign.com
Above left The practice consulted with the whole school community, including students, parents of students, staff, and government and education authorities
Right, clockwise Informal collaboration break-out stairs can be found within the teaching wings; a different perspective of the building’s ‘heart’; the extensive landscaping includes indigenous planting
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