This wonderful new primary school building forms part of the expansion of William Morris school in Banbury, Oxfordshire. The project was delivered in conjunction with the GLF Schools Academy Trust and Oxfordshire County Council to replace existing temporary buildings and to expand the school roll to meet the increasing demand in the local area for school places.
The project included the demolition of the temporary building and the construction of a new building providing three new Key Stage 2 classrooms, a staffroom and associated support and teaching spaces. The proposals also involved significant remodelling and refurbishment of the existing classrooms within the original part of the school to improve the layout to reflect changing requirements in education. Outside, the scheme includes associated hard and soft landscaping works, additional car parking and the creation of a KS2 hard play area.
The new building design is simple in form yet playful and vibrant in its use of materials and colour. Vertical strips of timber cladding and coloured cladding panels contrast beautifully with a red brickwork core, forming a striking relationship with the mature trees and vegetation within the site. Coloured roof ventilation cowls express the building’s ventilation strategy.
Internally, a new display wall has been incorporated within the corridor. Named ‘the wall of curiosities’ it provides a real centrepoint of the new building providing a space for the school to proudly display the work of its amazing children.
The project has been a great success with a fantastic client and project team working together to deliver an outstanding new facility for this OFSTED outstanding school.
Traditional Procurement
Client: GLF Schools
Services: Architect, Principal Designer CDM 2015, RIBA stages 1-6
Consultants/contractors:
Cost Consultant/QS: SKP3
Structural and civil engineering: Solid Structures
Mechanical & electrical engineering: CBG
Contractor: Beard Construction
