Client: West Sussex County Council; The Woodward Trust
Design: Architecture PLB
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Size: 13,108 sqm
Cost: £28m
Completion time: Three years
When Architecture PLB entered a competition to design the new Sir Robert Woodard Academy in West Sussex, its architects decided to keep an open mind when it came to the design – a strategy that director Mike Skilton thinks was effective in winning the project.
‘From the outset we wanted to take a step back, to really understand the brief and test it with the client,’ says Skilton. ‘Whereas some of the practices competing for the job may have had certain preconceptions, we decided that we weren’t going to design anything until we fully understood what the client wanted. I think they saw this approach in a positive light because we were really thorough and that we really took the time to understand and test the brief.’
Digging into the brief, Skilton and his team realised that there were two key considerations when it came to the layout of the school: one was that pupils were to be grouped into six ‘chapters’, each of which would have its own ‘house’; the other was that some of the school’s facilities were also to be used after hours by the local community.
Primarily on two floors, the Architecture PLB-designed new main school building is wedge-shaped, with three wings protruding from each of its two longest sides. Each of these wings is allocated to a chapter of 240 students from different age groups; inside, each chapter house has a its own chapter colour, which is also highlighted on the exterior of the building with coloured panels at the windows and around the doors. Walls are picked out in shades of a colour allocated to each chapter. Floors to the circulation spaces in each chapter are finished in coloured carpet or grey vinyl with coloured flecks. The double-height staff spaces at the entrance to each chapter are painted in the chapter colours, and external canopies over entrance doors are clad in coloured powder-coated metal to act as a beacon. Chapter colours are also represented in the upholstery of furniture.
The academy specialises in maths and visual and performance arts, so a considerable slice of the budget was allocated to creating theatre and performance spaces, which are also open to the local community outside of school hours. A nearby community college had had a theatre used by the local community but demolished, and the proposals for this project included a replacement for this, as well as providing other facilities, such as sports and performance spaces, that could be used by the communities within the school catchment area.
The academy likes to see these arts and performance venues as a mini-cultural centre – something like London’s Barbican Centre, says Skilton. ‘A central part of the design brief revolved around the design and location of the visual and performing arts centre, known informally as the "mini Barbican".’. The academy’s sponsor, the Woodward Trust, had imagined that this new arts and performance centre would be literally at the centre of the school, but Skilton and his team argued successfully that it would be better placed near the entrance.
‘We designed the building so that these spaces are as near to the main entrance as possible, meaning that the rest of the school can be securely locked up in the evenings and at weekends, while the community spaces remain open,’ says Skilton.
Two double-height drama studios have a moveable partition between them to increase the their flexibility. They support the main performance space in the academy and also have a demountable stage and facilities to aid the production of performances, including lighting and sound equipment operated from a control room above.
On the first floor, the dance studios are located above the entrance reception area. The two studios also have a moveable partition between them to increase their flexibility. One is larger than the other to ensure that a 10m x 10m clear area (a stipulation for dance in the curriculum). This larger studio is double height with roof-lights providing the required lighting levels. The dance studios have a sprung floor and appropriate ventilation. In the theatre, seating, acoustic panels and a steel supporting structure are all coloured purple, which along with turquoise is one of the school colours.
One of Skilton’s favourite areas of the school is the ‘Space for Quiet Reflection’, a quiet contemplation space on the first floor. The Woodward Trust is a Christian organisation, and part of the brief involved creating an area where students and staff (whether they are religious or not) can go to pray, meditate or simply get away from the hustle and bustle. Religious references have been kept minimal in the space, with just a single cross on the wall. It is mostly white with the backs of seats upholstered in lilac – a subtler version of the purple used throughout the school.
The idea of this project, says Skilton, was to create a ‘flagship academy’, and as such the budget allowed the designers to specify furniture and materials that go beyond those used in standard school buildings. ‘The sponsor and the local authority, which together were paying for this building, were very keen to get something that would be a flagship,’ says Skilton. ‘For the Woodard Trust this was its first new-build academy. Previously it had been working out of existing buildings, so it was important for the trust to have something it could shout about.’
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