The new build single-storey, T-shaped building, with brick external walls marries with the context of the adjacent buildings. Inside, the plan makes the building intelligible to the students, many of whom have limited mobility. The hydrotherapy pool creates a ‘buffer zone’ (acoustic separation) between the main road and the school. At the heart of the building are the communal spaces: the hall and dining room and a series of free-standing rooms housing practical facilities such as the library and a space for cooking. Around these wrap the classrooms which hug the perimeter of the building, each with external access. The school gives definition to spaces using rainbow colours which help the children orient themselves around the school. Expressed steel Y-frames and high level glazing illuminate the central spaces.
Photography by Dennis Gilbert/View
