Why refurbish case study no 2

School renewal by refurbishment a good practice guide

REMADE LEARNING PLACES EXAMPLE 2 SUBURBAN PRIMARY SCHOOL CASTLEPARK PRIMARY SCHOOL & NURSERY

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 2 / SUBURBAN PRIMARY SCHOOL

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EXAMPLE 2 SUBURBAN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Castlepark Primary School & Nursery Irvine, North Ayrshire Type Refurbishment, remodelling and extension Client North Ayrshire Council Education & Skills Irvine West Design JM Architects Management Gardiner & Theobald Contractor Morgan Sindall Programme August 2012 – November 2013

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01.

OVERVIEW

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A refurbishment and remodelling project of an unlisted late 20th century school in Irvine, North Ayrshire. The new school facility has been briefed and designed in response to the introduction of a Curriculum for Excellence.

The project accommodates a discovery-based approach to learning that encourages the development of problem solving skills for the pupils through critical thinking.

Pedagogy and curriculum needs drive the requirement for flexible spaces within the school. These spaces enable and supplement class based and group learning activities by allowing co-operative learning in a social setting.

The environment in and around the school has also been designed to become a resource to learning, giving pupils access to a wide range of learning contexts; new outdoor spaces give the children attending the school opportunities for spontaneous, planned and purposeful activity through physical, sensory and imaginative and investigative play in natural surroundings.

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The extension and remodelling of Castlepark creates an enlarged reconfigured and fully updated primary school; a new nursery facility, and improved whole school spaces and play areas.

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02.

CLIENT

Officers from North Ayrshire Council were involved in developing the initial brief for the school with input from educationalists, asset management, property services officers and architectural services officers.

Other support on the project came from Skills Irvine West.

The design was developed by JM Architects with an initial appointment with the authority and then, post contractor appointment stage, under a novation agreement to the main contractor Morgan Sindall.

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Cost planning and project management for the project was undertaken by Gardiner & Theobald Previous and right: Castlepark Primary School & Nursery is now accommodated in a fully renewed facility with new build extensions and refurbished and remodelled existing school spaces. External play spaces have also been upgraded and the new entrances created to simplify access and operations. Colour and natural materials are part of the natural and sensorial learning environment that this refurbishment has created.

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03.

BACKGROUND

Castlepark Primary is a purpose-built non-denominational school.

It is a single storey construction and was built during the 1990’s. Prior to the redevelopment work there was a pupil roll of 335 pupils with an occupancy level of 74.6%.

Schools rationalization drove the requirement to extend Castlepark as a result of the need to close the nearby John Galt Primary School.

The proposed closure of Galt had been set out in North Ayrshire Council School Estate Management Plan during 2010.

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06 Above: Images showing the school before and after refurbishment. New spaces and soft landscaping have been added and the external envelope of the existing building has undergone full repair and refinishing.

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07 A nursery, also existing on site at Castlepark, housed children in poor condition hutted accommodation. The nursery dated from around 1998 and had a capacity for 79 children. The school and nursery are situated within a residential area of Irvine with the Irvine Golf Club laying 1.5km to the east and open countryside 1.5km to the north. The Redburn Community Centre, associated grounds, play space and parking are located to the south of Castlepark Primary School whilst to the west lies the existing Castlepark Community Nursery and Community Centre. To absorb the Galt school pupils, North Ayrshire council had established that Castlepark School would need to enlarge to accommodate a roll of 500 pupils.

In order to achieve this, an extension adding more classrooms and associated activity areas, cloakrooms, WCs and storage would be required. The existing kitchen and dining area would also need to be extended in size. Feasibility studies were undertaken and these studies further identified the need to form a new school entrance and school administration area, together with internal refurbishment/ redesign of existing teaching areas.

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New build vs refurbishment The existing building at Castlepark was assessed by the local authority and found to be in a good enough condition to warrant re-use. The structure of the original building in particular suited open plan space use, and much of the building envelope was suitable for retention and upgrading to meet current building standards. Option appraisal was undertaken and an outline design and budget were tested in order to establish the business case. In addition to this, a further driver towards retention and re-use was the requirement for the school to be kept open during the works and decant to an off site location was not feasible or economic. To help with phasing and to simplify decant, the nursery spaces were kept running in their hutted accommodation.

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09 Top: New nursery and P1–P2 classrooms are housed in timber clad additions to the existing building. Colour and planting have been used to create diversity and a range of play activities are possible within newly created play areas.

Middle and bottom: The external environment around Castlepark was functional. Internally the learning spaces were tired, dark and over crowded with large open plan areas creating noise and management issues.

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APPROACH

A carefully thought through refurbishment and remodelling has significantly improved the learning conditions at Castlepark.

The idea of flexible use is also incorporated within the new classroom cluster which is added at the west end of the existing building. In this cluster, a series of sliding screens allow each classroom to open up in a variety of configurations; or to wholly join as required for muster teaching, story telling and other group learning activities. This promotes the idea of togetherness between each class group and resonates with the pastoral spirit of Castlepark School being a caring community of learners. A dedicated and bespoke naturally lit dining area has also been created, which provides views out for the children, as well as a new façade to the prominent east elevation of the building.

A ‘heart space’ for the school has been created and this allows for a range of the different teaching activities, social encounters and learning experiences to occur during the school day. To create the heart space the internal partitions of the original class spaces have been reconfigured to make open sided learning areas.

This simple move has allowed for an increase in shared area, and makes a whole space that can be timetabled to allow practical and group lessons to be delivered.

New additions to the school use sustainable materials and organic forms that create a softer profile to the school building. These parts of the design help define the relationship of the building with its play space by creating carefully thought of spaces for outdoor learning. Considerate location of entrances and classroom exits allows a good level of access to the school and also out to the external play areas.

Parents, pupils and staff were consulted throughout the project process and their views were respected in relation to the overall design. Including participation in this way was intended to help build an ethos of positive behaviour, a sense of identity, achievement and pride within the community of learners and beyond.

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11 The new interior heart space – bright, colourful and allowing directed learning, exploratory learning, and social learning to support modern pedagogy.

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Key design drivers • Sensitively respond to the educational requirements of the North Ayrshire Council brief and in particular to create a Curriculum for Excellence enabled school • Use the refurbishment design as an opportunity to address fundamental organisational and functional shortcomings of the existing school layout and to create a design layout and organisation to offer the greatest potential in terms of the benefit to the school and community • Create a new central zone suitable for flexible learning activities and to support social experiences and learning opportunities • Provide realistic options in terms of pupil and staff internal decant to ensure that the existing school can remain in operation during the period of the works • Create new classroom bases and an activity space at the south gable of the existing building as a natural extension of the existing class base/ teaching wing arrangement • Resolve the poor entrance sequence and existing circulation problems through relocating the existing school administration functions to allow the creation of a new entrance • Create new greatly enhanced play spaces whilst allowing the new nursery to sit within the existing Castlepark Primary School grounds

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13 Meeting the needs • Clear briefing from the outset by the Local Authority and the designers helped define a clear set of design drivers

• Careful assessment of the existing site, ground conditions and the condition of the existing buildings allowed appropriate risk contingencies and budgeting to be allocated and to align with the briefing requirements

• Close working between educationalists, the school team and the design team supported the design outcomes by setting out a clear vision for the school learning and pastoral approach

• Thorough analysis of the existing building helped identify areas for improvement and these became drivers supporting the functional and operational briefing for the school

• A commitment to consultation from the outset helped build support for the project and also helped embed principles of the Curriculum for Excellence.

Participation helped build an ethos of positive behaviour, a sense of identity, achievement, and pride

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• Phasing and decanting were minimized through careful management and design, diminishing the requirement for decant into temporary units • Outdoor play spaces were valued highly within the briefing priorities

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05.

REORGANIZING AND CREATING SPACE

Inside Shared activity areas have been provided as an extension of the general teaching area into the communal area of the school. This is an area where children can meet others to participate in a range of different learning activities such as: experimental work in science or design and technology, private study, IT working and study, wet area activities, music, reading, and story telling.

Multi-purpose space is located at the heart of the school and is accessible for use by all. Unlike the activity areas, this space has been physically separated from the class bases to prevent disruption of the classroombased activities creating flexibility for timetabling and use. Designated wet areas are carefully briefed to accommodate adjustable shelving as well as ample display boards.

Circulation routes are incorporated within the shared flexible learning area. This removes the need for corridor space and greatly helps with improving the opportunities for social interactions, informal encounters, and also creates space efficiencies within the plan of the building. All circulation routes have sensibly been made wide enough to allow a more flexible deployment of equipment, furniture and activities in the spaces through which they pass.

Right: Site plan showing the works.

During the tendering process with the contractor the phasing for the works went through a rationalisation process. The nursery was kept open in its existing hutted accommodation and construction was undertaken in a single phase with temporary units used for a decant facility. Whilst the single phase simplified the programme and implementation of the works, funding for the temporary units was required.

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Existing building – remodelled and refurbished New build Site boundary Demolition outline of existing nursery building Decant accommodation site

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14 Careful use of fabrics, carpet, wall finishes and lighting in the class spaces creates a quiet and calm atmosphere. Space has been made available for shared activities (open area) as well as for quiet and noisy activities. The class bases all have access to outdoor areas, either specific or communal, that allow for play, eco developments (gardening) and study of the natural environment and allowing easy movement to the cloakrooms, toilets and outside. Shared classroom storage is located off the class base.

The library has been designed and fitted out to allow for ICT and multimedia learning. The library has been located in a central location and in close proximity to the heart of the school and the new entrance.

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The dining area has been designed with moveable partitions which allow the dining and gymnasium spaces the potential to combine.

The dining space has good access to an external area for outdoor eating. This space has been designed as a natural focal point to allow children sitting down to see outside through carefully situated windows.

Toilets have been located so as to be easily reached from classrooms and other teaching areas, and also to allow access to the external play areas.

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Images: The interior of the school offers flexible use for multiple furniture layouts. Sliding doors, demountable dividing screens, and soft furnishings all help to create opportunities for a range of learning and social uses.

The newly formed dining area overlooks the front area of the school. This part of the building allows for multi-purpose use and opens up into the existing hall when required.

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18 Outside • The relocation of the school entrance and the addition of a new administration block forms a new civic space to the south east corner of the site which helps with integrating the building into its host community. New DDA compliant parking/ drop off spaces have been added improving site accessibility • Clear separation of pedestrians and vehicles is provided within the school site and this improves safety

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• A range of outdoor play and recreational environments have been provided to recognise the varying needs of children of different ages.

Bespoke and distinct play areas are provided for each age/ stage group. Adding carefully chosen planting has softened site edges. These create a natural site boundary

Images: The shape and natural materials of the new build elements define external play areas

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LEARNING POINTS

21 • Cost savings were made by working under less stringent building standards requirements for air tightness in a refurbished building

• Elements such as ceilings, items such as floor finishes and a considered palette of bright and rich colours could have further lifted the quality and experience of the internal environment to match the quality of the sensitively considered external additions

• Re-assessment of the brief and the design throughout the project process allowed for rationalization. This led to efficiencies and cost savings in the design. In particular the requirement for a new build dining hall was forgone

• Undertake investigative surveys and being flexible on design options at the early stages to manage risk of unknown and unexpected events

• Undertake continual design development as the functional and user needs become clearer.

At Castlepark the addition of a central teaching zone within the cluster of new class bases helped increase flexibility of use in this part of the building by creating a buffer zone with the school heart

• Where possible avoid design approaches with little or no flexibility in phasing. Develop a design approach that will support simple phasing

• Client awareness of the possibilities of colour, material and simple innovation in selection of play area surfaces would have helped further enrich the external learning environment

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Example

Castlepark Primary School & Nursery, Irvine

Scale

Intermediate scale refurbishment and extension

Type

Late 20th century local authority designed

Context

Suburban town

Priorities

• Improve service delivery for both nursery and primary education service through redevelopment of the facility • Upgrade learning environments to fully support the Curriculum for Excellence • Improve functionality and accessibility in support of community use • Continued support for walkability and neighbourhood identity by retaining facilities in their current location

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

Principle 2: Innovative design and change should be informed by experience • Learning condition improvements should take priority and resourcing should be budgeted accordingly. Good design should effect thinking on all parts of the building, not just new build elements Principle 7: A well managed estate should represent and deliver best value • Design aesthetics must be carefully balanced against the need for functional improvements in support of learning and educational change Principle 8: Schools should drive and support effective learning and teaching • Outdoor learning environments should not be forgotten and the appropriate funding should be assigned and prioritised accordingly within the budget.

Effective outdoor learning can be supported by simple and innovative approaches to external space such as the use of paint and surface treatments

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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 Architects 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 01–04 Castlepark Primary School & Nursery: Cadzow Pelosi 05, 07–09 JM Architects 06, 10–16 Cadzow Pelosi 17 Architecture & Design Scotland 18–21 Cadzow Pelosi

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