St Cadoc’s & Cairns Primary Community Campus, Glasgow Education Building, School
St Cadoc’s & Cairns Primary Community Campus News
Lanarkshire Education Project design by Stallan-Brand architects
19 + 17 + 16 Jan 2014
Design: Stallan-Brand with Keir Construction
Address: Crookfur Rd, Glasgow, Lanarkshire G77 6TT, Scotland
Photos: Keith Hunter Photography
St Cadoc’s & Cairns Primary Glasgow Primary School Buildings
Cairns Primary and St Cadoc’s Primary School are non-denominational and denominational schools located on adjacent sites in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, Scotland within an area of regeneration.
The two schools form part of a series of schools designed by Stallan-Brand and constructed by Kier Construction as part of an on-going Framework Agreement with South Lanarkshire Council, and are built on the site of the former schools and playing fields. The site is within an area of residential housing bound by Lilybank Avenue to the north, Woodland Crescent to the south and the former Cairns Primary School to the East which will be demolished after its use as a decant facility is no longer required.
The new Primary Schools are aligned along the axis of Ivybank Avenue, and are organised to form a new, secure, campus environment. The design concept was to create a vibrant, rich and colourful environment, one which would enhance and reaffirm education at the heart of the community. The surrounding residential area was in a state of dereliction, with many unoccupied properties and where crime was prevalent; it was felt that the buildings would encourage a new sense of pride and ownership within the community, creating a truly inspirational learning environment. Although the two schools are separate, a design code was established to reinforce and strengthen the buildings’ relationship. The two schools benefit from having a shared drop off space, an arrival avenue and shared outdoor facilities all of which help to encourage social interaction between the two schools
St Cadoc’s Primary is a 7 classrooms school and Cairns Primary is a 14 classroom school with an integrated nursery. Both schools are designed around an open plan central atrium, where many of the shared spaces are brought together in the heart of the school building, such as the ICT suite, library and general purpose areas. It was important to provide spaces which benefitted from natural daylight and ventilation which was made possible by the use of clearstory glazing.
The clerestory brings natural daylight into the heart of the school and allow for a natural ventilation strategy, also enabling teachers to control the thermal comfort of each of the teaching spaces. All classrooms and administrative spaces are accessed directly from the central atrium to ease and assist with way-finding and orientation. Circulation, access and orientation have been simplified by the omission of internal doors within the main circulation areas by means of a fire engineered solution.
All internal circulation spaces have been designed to be light and airy with an uplifting ambience to encourage positive behaviour and content school-children. The classrooms are arranged to take advantage of the panoramic views to the North, with external teaching spaces extending into the playground and landscape beyond. Administrative and staff areas are located to the south and address arrival, overlooking the main entrance and parking areas beyond.
The driving force behind our design for an exemplar primary school is the desire to create a wonderful internal learning environment – inspirational, flexible, exciting, spacious, colourful and welcoming. This is enhanced by the graphics and wayfinding throughout both schools and reinforces the external architectural treatment.
Internally, the concept at St Cadoc’s was to mirror the horizontal bands of the external cladding to create physical and visual connections within the school’s central street. Large vinyl graphics of rulers, protractors, compasses and world globes are incorporated to enhance and enliven the curriculum. Large vinyl graphics have been applied to the gym hall and playground with silhouettes of pupils undertaking a variety of activities relevant to each area.
Similarly, Cairns Primary has vibrantly coloured balustrade height walls to the circulation spaces overlooking the central atrium, which assist in internal wayfinding as they wrap and wind their way around the shared circulation and teaching spaces. The high level bands guide pupils on a clearly defined journey via the school’s primary areas of use.
The theme is further applied to the manifestations of the internal glazing, giving the school a continuity which begins with large external elements and is repeated at even the most intimate scale of internal detailing. Child friendly graphics and fonts have been used throughout the school with quotes specifically chosen by the pupils. The internal colours are informed by those on the external elevation and help define key spaces and assist with pupil orientation.
Externally, each school has a robust and durable brick base layer which is crowned by an aluminium powder coated colour cladding system. Although the brick base remains constant between the two, the cladding panel orientation differs creating a unique identity for each school. A complimentary colour palette was proposed to visually link the two schools, and certain colours are common to both, the palette was varied through the incorporation of the specific uniform colours to each school. The bold use of colour and form was intended to create a focal point within the community, an urban beacon that pupils would be drawn towards.
The pupil playground areas are uncluttered and flexible with surface markings for games and imaginative play. Furniture and planters have been installed to define external teaching areas and reinforce social interaction between pupils.
St Cadoc’s & Cairns Primary Schools information from Stallan-Brand, architects
St Cadoc’s & Cairns Primary Schools images from Keith Hunter
Keith Hunter Photography
13 Oxford Rd, Renfrew PA4 0SJ
0141 886 4503 mob 07831 117980
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photo : Keith Hunter
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