Paste your essay in here…Sir Denys Lasdun was one of the UKs most influential architects of his time and is most noted for the National Theatre in London (1963). Born in 1914, he studied in architectural associations in his primary stages of education and won awards throughout before being commissioned for his first occupation for MARS group in 1935. He was an enthusiast for Le Corbusier’s work and also followed the Modern Architecture movement and somewhat brutalist movement always revisiting classicism in his methodology. He believed there was a constant flow in modern architecture of classic aspects and thought that there was a link between a total evolution in design and an attachment to its past. He served in the Royal engineers to aid in construction of airfields during WWII and worked with reinforced steel frame and concrete. He completed the two-storey school after working on a housing scheme in Bayswater with the recent deal with another firm to create the Hallfield estate and then the school. After designing many buildings throughout the country, he was knighted in 1976 and continued creating some more important buildings in central London, working in the architecture industry for around 70 years designing over 15 examples of his vision. Some examples;
Royal National Theatre, South Bank
Royal college of physicians, London
IBM building, South Bank
Caruso St johns is an architectural firm founded in 1990 and mainly focuses on modern architecture in cities in England and mostly London. The practise goes against the ideas that characterises most of generic architecture and leans towards a design that is sentimental to its site and that which is appreciated over time. Much of their work is within cities in Europe and they endeavour to create structures that intertwine with its historical values which uplifts the overall scenery. They focus on the idea of manipulating “found” space and they study the sites very carefully critically explore the everyday aspects and features as well as planned aesthetic beauty. The context of the site is where they start drawing their ideas and they tend to stay close to the ground, refraining from letting the existing buildings influence their work but create designs that compliment them. Some of their design philosophy comes from the refinement in detail and careful focus to create a certain impression from the building, exteriors have a slight sensitivity in surroundings that have earnt a specific character whereas the interiors offer a more appropriate feeling according to the buildings purpose. They have been in the industry for over 20 years and work currently, some samples of their work include;
Brick house, London
Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham
The school is situated within Hallfield estate and showcases Lasduns movement into a more human centred architecture as compared to his previous work. It has various connections outdoors and low spreading structures that open outdoors. The building has an organic layout in plan that mimics the shape like a plant with leaves, petals, stems and is largely child focused in scale and composition.
It reflects moments in a child’s imagination in various ways; there are long curved corridors that seem endless from an entering perspective;
Every classroom has a view outdoors onto the play grounds so the feeling of being close to them is heightened; the large openings allow sunlight to flood the interior all day;
Its surrounded by trees and offers endless opportunity and freedom for the children in breaks between lessons. Most of the classrooms are linked via pathways within the plan and are separated by key stage 1 being enclosed in a single storey building and the other stages in a two-storey building providing year groups with their own space making the it feels more belonging.
The site even consists of a nurture room which has tactile additions on walls and smooth music playing in the background on small speakers giving it a relaxed atmosphere.
Changes to the site over time were made following a rise in pupil numbers and the growth in economy for the government from 1980 onwards. The 9 additional classrooms were built with a change in schooling and different teaching methods in mind such as large group teachings for 30 children, separate smaller groups for focused lessons and even 1-1 teaching areas. The original building was designed post war in a modern constructivist architecture and was finished in 1955. The site of the school then had additions made in 2005 of two buildings designed in a contemporary modern architecture that don’t touch the existing building but are placed adjacent and are carefully scaled shorter. These structures don’t challenge the existing building but compliment it adhering to Caruso St Johns ethos.
They wanted to expand the school in ways the offer the same freedom outdoors and in a way that doesn’t disturb the first buildings function, contributing to the courtyards in the middle. These two developments won an RIBA award the next year. The buildings are compact areas for both infant and junior schooling on the east and west parts of the site giving the same impression as Lasduns building of having their own spaces within the larger school. They also placed the buildings as close to the school as possible, this has less compromise of the existing playground areas and still offers the same intimacy with the outdoors.
The most recent installation to the school is a new playground area designed for the nursery in the notion of outdoor learning with hands on and play time features. The new development was designed by a landscaping company called Bartholomew in 2012. The company took advantage of the underused part of the site by utilising the sloping aspects and added slides and undulating grounds to seem more playful. The progress was also child focused as they could see the work in progress through openings in the protective walls of construction. They were also introduced to the project, so they had something to look forward to when it was completed. The playground consists of tunnels, a sheltered hut, rising and falling hills, large open pathways in and out of the area to allow many opportunities and choice in break times. With faux grass and green floor paint, this has a feel of a pleasant site and heightens the outdoor feeling.
The site plan at 1:2500 shows the surround buildings and Hallfield school. The building is situated towards the south side of Hallfield estate with the surrounding builds being housing schemes in general with Victorian and block social housing. The area is close to the centre of London where it is very busy and active throughout the day and night. It is in a very lively area and is economically developed. Denys Lasdun operated in this area frequently and has some of his work within the borough. There is one road that leads into the main entrance for the school which is almost like a keyhole entrance where all methods of entrance or exit are through one small point in the building. There is a large amount of social and public activity towards the west side of the building because the high street quite close, west of the site.
This is where it is very busy and does generate some noise, to its advantage the playgrounds are set closer to this noise whereas the structure is pushed towards the quieter part of the area i.e. the housing blocks. There are many public stations including one of London’s most iconic Victorian examples of stations, Paddington station, and bus stops close and around the school making it very accessible in terms of community transport. Hyde park is another location where the school can operate some of their teaching, from my visit to the school I was informed that some of their sport and orienteering lessons take part in a field trip scheme to the park. There is a main road that runs around the with smaller grade roads making motor vehicle speeds appropriate for public interactions and a school to be situated in the middle of all these housing projects protects it and almost conceals it from all elements of the outside world.
The school contains two floors with its administration and reception centre running along the corridor as you enter on the ground floor. As you enter the building there a curved corridor to the left and a low ceiling glass walk way which can be opened into the courtyard and also leads you into the class room and teaching area. in the first classroom, we saw an example of how this structure has been catered with the child’s scale in mind. The ceiling was 2.2m high just enough to fit a door in making it proportional to a child’s height. Another feature about heights is the way the half way walls separate the function of spaces but also keep the area open.
The toilets also are designed where the sinks are outside so that they can be accessed quickly and in any occasion, boys and girls enter on either the right or left side. There is a window opening which starts at approx. 1.3m so that a child cannot see into the other side, but an adult can supervise and have a view into the space.
Another feature of the child’s perspective is that throughout the corridors of the junior section there are openings close to the floor allowing an opportunity to see onto outside and sit on the floor with the view being at a child’s height.
The hall is wide and tall so it can house all sorts of activities and purposes, it has large windows to allow lots of light through and with all windows only being able to be opened 3 inches due to regulation, all of the windows can be opened even the ones too high to reach. The hall and assembly halls are also used when the school isn’t running on curriculum dates serving many other functions. In the hall there are tables and chairs stacked on the left side giving them their own space in the hall. Towards the other side, the gymnasium frames and equipment are installed as part of the wall so that it can be easily unclipped and folded out into the hall. Adjacent to that the piano and crash mats are stacked along the wall with stretch benching placed against the walls making it a very multipurpose and heavily used hall.
The corners of the building are utilised with small comfy zones where children can read and sit down. The colours used contrast to its surrounding giving it a feel of individual space and some feel of being in your own little corner.
As you get upstairs and go around towards the middle of the building, its special feature is the curved corridor with many vertical thin openings giving a partial view of the outside. The curved movement of this view makes it seem as if its turning into a longer corridor making it an event just walking through. From one side of the strip the glass faces you in a straight fixture but if you look the opposite way the glass strips come into the walkway in curved waves almost like where the leaf connects to its stem.
The playgrounds are large and open surrounded by trees, so the feeling of a natural area is invoked by undulating grounds and just simple emptiness elsewhere. There are sheltered canopies that come off the building with smaller openings and other sheltered aspects to the playground. There are pathways that link the older building to the newer installation which indicates the circulation without having to inform with signs or directions.
The main structure itself is made from steel girders and concrete and its main facade offers the same precast concrete and is supported with steel frame with stone faced cladding parts for the external walls that allow areas for openings and windows.
The buildings constructivist design it complies the modern technology that was available and engineering methods to incorporate large openings for glazing, large vertical shapes and curved features all in one structure. The contrast between solid walls and glazing with its proportion gave it the distinct look and gives it a large sense of scale. Looking at the building straight away you can conclude that it is a teaching institute. It has many load bearing elements with thick walls for structural integrity and it helped with sound and thermal insulation.
Due to the working hours of the school and the limited time I was offered by the admin I was not able to visit the smaller of the two structures towards the west of the site but got valuable information from the one I got to visit.
They are made in a similar modernist architecture style which is quite subtle and inviting. The new structures foundations are made by using thin steel frames a precast concrete floor. For cladding, there is and lining of brick with plasterboard for the interiors. Using a similar method of construction this building allows large openings that view the outside site, a view I enjoyed was from the cooking kitchen onto part of the outside.
The outsides of the building are colourless which mimic the look of the original building where as the interior has exposed layers like concrete on the stairs and red brick in the halls. The walkways that are not classrooms have a black finish on the flooring and as the transition into the learning spaces happen the floor changes colour to brown and dark green differentiating the two spaces. The interior spaces in the classroom are linked by their toilets which have been made in unisex fashion, this gives the staff easy access between classes and allows them to monitor both spaces easily.
The building has a large to teach in terms of construction, design and interior space. The way it has been focused on the child’s perspective isn’t something that most buildings consider in their design. The methods he used in designing have been proven to be successful and work in favour of the child. The building to me is exciting, its internal spaces and circulation is enjoyable and doesn’t seem daunting. There are many interesting features within the building for example the corner utilisation of reading corners, half heighted walls and the stair case being an almost double heighted space.
The low wall heights made it easy to distinguish between the junior and younger aged areas of the building. The curved corridor with the sequence of windows is a joy to walk through and the view is partial yet suffice for light. There is a constant feel of views onto the playground throughout the building and has an open feel.
The cluster of items and diverse situations in small spaces shows the somewhat complexity of a child’s brain, there was so much to do in this one class room it almost felt like there were 10 different spaces in the rooms.