SCALA Civic Building of the Year Competition, 2007
Commended
Buckinghamshire County Council
Highcrest Community School
This ‘failing school’ has been closed, extended and reopened under the ‘Fresh Start’ initiative.
The scheme replaced redundant elements of the 1930s built school with a major extension to provide much needed additional classrooms, a new all-purpose flexible assembly hall/performance space with a lighting/sound control gallery, a dance studio which can be incorporated into the larger hall, and an internet café/study area.
Materials include brickwork to match the older existing buildings, cedar cladding and split-faced white blockwork to the first floor classrooms. On the south facing elevation, ‘Kalwall’, a light-diffusing, insulated wall system, was used for the classrooms, internet café and dance studio.
The existing buildings and the new extension are linked by a new terraced courtyard providing sheltered space for pupils and visitors.
The design incorporates high level of insulation, a windcatcher ventilation system to the hall, underfloor heating (utilising the school’s existing central heating system boilers) and extensive use of timber sourced from managed forests.
The school has become one of the most over subscribed secondary schools in Buckinghamshire as a result of the built improvements and the philosophy and enthusiasm of Buckinghamshire County Council, the head teacher and staff.
- Architect, Quantity Surveyor, Structural Engineer, Mechanical and Electrical Engineer, Landscape Architect:
- Jacobs UK Ltd
- Main Contractor:
- Kingerlee Construction Ltd
