design solutions
the classrooms. However, these have been designed to be occupant-controlled following feedback from the teachers during the consultation process. The existing (much smaller) school was a single-storey building and the teachers were used to simply opening the door to provide ventilation to every classroom. The stacked school solution to maximise play space at ground level meant the classrooms were arranged over three floors. Traditionally, all windows above ground level for schools need to be restricted to 99-mm openings for safety reasons but this would have let insufficient amount of air in the room. Architecture Initiative specified full-height inward- opening external doors concealed by the steel louvred panels. These measures ensure that the teachers could open the door on the second floor as they were used to in the current building at ground level and the louvres provide a full height balustrade making it 100% safe for the pupils whilst letting in the maximum amount of fresh air. Extending the capacity of the school
creates extra places for pupils that are sorely needed in Tower Hamlets, where demand
for places is expected to rise by as much as 38% by 2022. The £10m school has created 60 new jobs for the local area and is highly energy efficient, with natural ventilation, heat recovery systems and a highly-insulated building fabric helping achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating. Duncan Cameron, Building Development
at London Borough of Tower Hamlets, said: “The project to expand Olga Primary School contributes to the council’s overall programme to meet the need for additional
school places for the rising school population. The council’s partnership with Architecture Initiative has resulted in a learning environment that is stimulating, invigorating and engaging. “The new design offers fantastic
teaching space and terraces. Olga Primary School and the community are proud of the amount of green spaces and mature trees which create a refreshing respite in a highly-developed residential area.”
www.architectureinitiative.com
educationdab.co.uk 19
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49
