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Winford Primary School North Somerset

Client:
North Somerset Council
Location:
North Somerset
Contact:
David Hunter 0117 974 3271 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

North Somerset Council have a vision to provide 21st century learning facilities for its pupils, which includes refurbishing and extending their primary schools over the coming years. Stride Treglown has been appointed by Willmott Dixon, who is part of the NSC framework. We worked closely with the Council’s education specialists as well as the end-users to come up with a design that is in the spirit of the school’s vision and “21st century learning”.

The site has a village-like ‘feel’ to it, albeit not being located in a conservation area, our proposals reflect the materiality and was sympathetic to the elevational scale of the context.

Before the new extension existed, Winford Primary School was composed of a 19th century stone building extended in the 1980s and five temporary buildings. The recently completed extension now houses 4 classrooms, a hall / dining area, learning resource spaces, and outdoor teaching spaces.

The standard of the design is to be BREEAM ‘Very Good’, which includes natural ventilation and the use of renewables such as solar hot water panels. The local community will have access to the hall and other facilities out of school hours.

Our design addresses challenges such as dealing with the acoustic requirements of BB93, as the school is located directly under the flight path of Bristol airport (situated just 2 miles away.

The school is composed of three elements: the Existing Building, the ‘Link’ Building, and the new Main School Building. The Existing Building is to be refurbished and will house the pre-school and reception class, as well as a room for community use. The main entrance and foyer play a crucial role in linking the old with the new. The Main School Building has a simple and coherent arrangement of spaces: the service wing, that houses the kitchen and hall, is connected with the teaching wing through a light and airy, double-height ‘Heart’ space. The Heart doubles up as a teaching resource where the library and group rooms form smaller areas within the space, creating a lively environment, conducive for learning. A playful element is added into the design in the form of an external leaf-shaped staircase with windows that allow views into and out of the envelope, making the short journey up and down the stairs interesting for the children.

Externally, the landscaping is designed and enhanced to meet BB99 requirements for external spaces to the maximum potential the site would allow. As a whole, the design has been well-received by the community and the end users.

Find out what teachers, pupils and their parents have been saying...