Why Refurbish Case Study Example 1

School renewal by refurbishment a good practice guide

REMADE LEARNING PLACES EXAMPLE 1 LISTED URBAN PRIMARY SCHOOL NOTRE DAME PRIMARY SCHOOL

INTRODUCTION

These examples of refurbishment support the ‘Why Refurbish?’ guide published by A&DS. The purpose is to show how local authorities approached different scales and types of school refurbishment projects across Scotland. A summary of learning points are set out in each example which reference the 9 principles of ‘Building Better Schools; Investing in Scotland’s Future’.

Examples: 1 Notre Dame Primary School Listed urban primary school 2 Castlepark Primary School & Nursery Suburban primary school 3 Coltness High School Mid 20th century suburban high school 4 Halyrude Primary School & Tweeddale Support Centre Rural primary school 5 Bent Primary School Rural primary school 6 Greenhill Primary School & Drumpark ASN Primary School Co-located suburban primary schools into listed building REMADE LEARNING PLACES

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CONTENTS

01 Overview

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02 Client

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03 Background

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04 Approach

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05 Reorganising and creating space

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06 Learning points

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EXAMPLE 1 / LISTED URBAN PRIMARY SCHOOL

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EXAMPLE 1 LISTED URBAN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Notre Dame Primary School Glasgow Type Refurbishment and extension Client Education Services Glasgow City Council Design and management Glasgow City Council Contractor City Building Glasgow Programme January 2012 – August 2013

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OVERVIEW

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A refurbished and extended Category C listed school building located in the West End of Glasgow featuring high levels of renewable energy, improved access and new whole school spaces. The project creates a renewed two stream primary school with an early years centre and community use spaces.

School capacity is 434 pupils, the early years centre has a capacity of 66 places.

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CLIENT

Glasgow City Council’s (GCC) Education Services manages the city’s nurseries, primary schools, special needs schools and secondary schools and was the client for the refurbishment and extension at Notre Dame Primary School.

Images: New build extension and play deck creating whole school spaces and improved level access to the primary school.

Interior view showing a new learning space overlooking the play deck. Material for the new build extension has been selected to blend into the surrounding sandstone apartment buildings.

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BACKGROUND

This remodelled large primary school houses the co-location of Notre Dame Primary School, St Peter’s Primary School, and Anderson Street Nursery into the buildings of the former Dowanhill Primary School in the West End of Glasgow. The Dowanhill school buildings became available after the decision was taken to relocate its pupils to Hillhead Primary School. The project is part of phase 4B of the city’s school renewal plan.

Dowanhill School is now known as Notre Dame Primary School.

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The project commenced in 2006 with early discussions between the Head Teachers of nearby Notre Dame Primary School, St Peter’s Primary School, and Anderson Street Nursery. These had been identified as suitable for merging due to projected falling school rolls and the fabric condition of their existing buildings.

Dowanhill Primary School’s population had also shrunk to approximately 80 pupils. Three other local non-denominational schools had similar falling roll profiles.

Education services merged these four, and in July 2011 the pupils and staff of Dowanhill left the building for the summer holidays for the last time in 120 years (1894) taking up residence in August in their new home – Hillhead Primary School. The initial proposal was to demolish the Dowanhill Public School building and replace it with a new building. However in 2006 Historic Scotland listed Dowanhill as Category C. Feasibility studies looking at design options, including new-build, façade retention, and refurbishment and extension were undertaken. The refurbishment and extension option was selected on grounds of the school building listed status, and its location within a conservation area.

Images: New build additions are carefully scaled to sit in balance with the existing buildings.

Stacking new build spaces vertically saves on play space taken by the additional building area. Internally the existing atrium is now a bright breathing space for the school.

Colour has been used in the refurbished atrium to improve orientation and to create architectural expression.

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APPROACH

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A sensitive refurbishment of an existing school to significantly increase usability, energy efficiency and community use.

The design approach uses materials that reflect and blend in with the surrounding context. The refurbishment of the existing atrium creates a breathing space for the whole school and offers opportunity for social encounters and learning activities. The new whole school spaces are housed in a single form created by means of efficient vertical stacking of the nursery, hall and sports facilities.

A reinvigorated educational asset has been created, ensuring the connection between school and the community remains intact. Glasgow City used forward looking, careful asset husbandry and strategic planning to allow the works to commence whilst the school was empty. This managed out the requirement for decant, temporary units and complex phasing.

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Key design drivers

Meeting the needs

• Co-location of three primary schools and a nursery as part of the strategic briefing from Educational Services

• Clear strategic briefing supported the opportunity of re-use of the school building through careful pupil roll planning and school rationalisation

• Need for modernized whole school spaces and community use as part of the learning brief in order to suit curriculum and pedagogy

• Robust project appraisal and establishment allowed project commencement without requiring decant

• Requirement for project commencement in sync with the decant of the former cohort

• Robust project appraisal identified suitability of the building for re-use

• Boosting community attachment and facilities as part of the school renewal strategy

• Thorough property briefing supported the commitment to renewal via refurbishment

• Increasing sustainability and energy efficiency as part of the property and operational brief

• Learning and community aspirations were valued highly in the assessment criteria

• Sensitive response to listing and conservation issues as part of the response to policy and design briefing

• Commitment to consultation and engagement was used successfully in developing the vision and briefing management throughout the project process

• Improving access conditions as part of operational briefing • Remodelling to remove insensitive additions in order to support the special interest of the listed building

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05.

REORGANISING AND CREATING SPACE Level 03

• Remodelling works took place within the footprint of the existing building and section heights were increased to convert former service spaces into primary school class spaces at lower levels • A new entrance to the P1-P2 classrooms and an enlarged plant room has also been created

Level 02

• Moving up through the plan levels in the existing building, the layout of classrooms remains. Changes were made to the main entrance and administration office locations to improve access and functionality.

A DDA lift was also added Level 02a

• New build element contains nursery spaces at lower ground floor, core functions and a new learning space at ground floor, and the school hall sports spaces, which sit in the upper levels of the extension • A new fire stair was added to achieve compliance • At ground level a new access and play deck is added to resolve DDA issues with site levels • Overall the spatial reorganisation at Notre Dame consisted of rationalisation and remodelling with a new access bridge element added to create an accessible design. Whole school use is included within the existing atrium. The strategy for locating and stacking new build spaces drew from the need to minimise the impact on the existing play space.

Overall the existing building type is well adapted to suit the spatial needs for the new school

Level 01

Image: Plans show new build additions in blue and refurbished spaces in green.

Existing building – remodelled and refurbished New build Site boundary

Level 00

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Before and after Windows and roofs were all upgraded as part of the refurbishment works. Historic Scotland agreed to the addition of double glazed windows and the addition of the new build elements. The overall impression is of a sympathetic modern addition that does not undermine the character of the main body of the listed school.

The project shows just how successfully a modern school can be created inside the walls of an old building; and also how whole school spaces can successfully be integrated and accommodated on a tight urban site.

Before renewal the school was lying empty and at risk of demolition. Listing helped preserve the school building for reuse by the co-located schools and this brought the building back into educational use.

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At the beginning of the renewal process parents and members of the community remained unconvinced as to whether the school could be successfully transformed. At the completion of the renewal this position was reversed and now the community is pleased with a renewed learning and community asset.

Images show the before and after views of the school building. Image (right) Glasgow City Council.

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LEARNING POINTS

Example

Notre Dame Primary School, Glasgow

Scale

Major refurbishment and extension

Type

19th century listed high school

Context

Urban city

Priorities

• Improved educational and community services in support of place • Strategic cost benefits secured through the co-location of schools • Urban regeneration through the re-introduction of education services in the community • Energy improvement through fabric and services upgrades • Effective asset management assured through re-established educational and community use for the listed building

Key lessons and alignment with Scottish Government 9 Principles for School Renewal

Principle 1: Good consultation should be used to support better outcomes • Confidence and belief in refurbishment at Notre Dame has been built through all party participation in the process at each project stage and pupils, teachers and parents were involved in developing the approach to the refurbishment at the school Principle 2: Innovative design and change should be informed by experience • Re-appropriation of the listed building has supported changes to fabric and series of key spatial adaptations required to create an effective modern learning environment. Education driven briefing was developed in support of this level of change. Briefing has been based both on the authorities extensive experience and the results of careful consultation to capture the experience of other stakeholders Principle 7: A well managed estate should represent and deliver best value • Capital costs for the inclusion of renewables were prioritised and the technical approaches pursued resulted in high build costs

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A&DS wishes to thank the following people and organisations for participation, assistance and contribution in preparing this guide: • • • • • • •

Contributors of featured examples • Aedas Architects • Archial NORR • Glasgow City Council (Project Management & Design) • JM Architects • CRGP Architects & Surveyors • Realm ISD • Scottish Borders Council Architect’s Section (Design Services) • Space Strategies • Stallan Brand

The Scottish Government Scottish Futures Trust Association of Directors of Education in Scotland Convention of Scottish Local Authorities Education Scotland Grounds For Learning Design by Graven

Officers and teaching staff from • Dundee City Council • City of Edinburgh Council • Fife Council • Glasgow City Council • Highland Council • Moray Council • North Ayrshire Council • North Lanarkshire Council • Scottish Borders Council • South Lanarkshire Council • West Lothian Council

Image credits 01–08 Notre Dame Primary School: Grzegorz Piechowicz 09 Glasgow City Council 11 Notre Dame Primary School: Grzegorz Piechowicz

Expert consultants • Alastair Blyth • John Worthington • Nick Wright • Lorraine Tulloch Advocacy contributors • Alan Russell: Senior Teacher & Education Officer (retired) • Alastair Blyth: Learning Environments Assessor and Advisor • Dugald Forbes: Educationalist (retired) • Historic Scotland • John Worthington: Expert Advisor • Scottish Borders Council: Asset Management Officer • Scott Brownrigg: Architectural Design Consultant

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APPENDICES

The following documents are a useful resource supporting the ideas, themes and arguments contained within this guide: School Estate Management Plans Building Our Future: Scotland’s School Estate www.scotland.gov.uk/ Publications/2003/08/18009/25296

Managing the Brief For Better Design www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415460316/ How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built Brand, S, Penguin Books, 1995 OECD

Building Excellence – Exploring the implications of Curriculum for Excellence for school buildings www.gov.scot/Topics/Education/Schools/Buildings/ Excellence

Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) – Schooling for Tomorrow www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/centreforeducationalresearchan dinnovationceri-schoolingfortomorrow.htm

Senses of Place: Building Excellence www.ads.org.uk/smarterplaces

Modernising School Buildings in Portugal www.oecd.org/education/innovation-education/ centreforeffectivelearningenvironmentscele/49567409. pdf

Better Briefing For Education Benefit www.ads.org.uk/smarterplaces/features/betterbriefing-for-education-benefit-transforming-spacesto-inspire

SFT Lessons Learnt www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/publications/lessonslearnt/

The Re-design Option www.ads.org.uk/smarterplaces/news/the-re-designoption-exhibition

SFT Schools Development Handbook www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/our-work/sft-build/ schools-for-the-future/schools-development-handbook/

Sustainability in Reuse www.ads.org.uk/designforum/qualityofplace/highlightsustainability-in-re-use?typology_id=6&quality_id=4

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School renewal by refurbishment a good practice guide

www.ads.org.uk/smarterplaces