why refurbish case study 4

School renewal by refurbishment a good practice guide

REMADE LEARNING PLACES EXAMPLE 4 RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOL HALYRUDE 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 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 4 / RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOL

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EXAMPLE 4 RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOL

Halyrude Primary School Peebles, Scottish Borders Type Refurbishment Size 89 Pupils Client Education & Lifelong Services Scottish Borders Council Design Design Services, Scottish Borders Council Management CRGP Architects Scottish Borders Council Contractor McLaughlin & Harvey, Mallusk, Co Antrim Programme November 2010 – April 2011

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01.

OVERVIEW

This small rural school has been carefully refurbished on a limited budget. The school was substantially remodelled for the arrival of a new reduced roll of learners and also included a local Support Centre and a pre-school learner playgroup.

The remodelled school provides a more open and dynamic environment centred on a double height top lit space. Although organisationally separate, all communities share common spaces such as Gym space, Dining Hall and Playgrounds.

Scottish Borders Council prepared a project brief in May 2009 and design development commenced on a project to refurbish the school to reach current day standards for the teaching provision including physical education and well being. Alongside these works, upgrades to the core services and insulation values of the building fabric were also scoped and budgeted for.

It was generally considered that the building fabric and roof were in reasonable condition and many of the rooms would require minimal attention, although it had been some time since a thorough survey was carried out.

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02.

CLIENT

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BACKGROUND

The Project was designed, procured and supervised on site by the Architects section of Scottish Borders Council in conjunction with private sector Quantity Surveyors, Services Engineers, Structural Engineers and CDM-C. Great advantage was made of the reduction in the pupil roll, which allowed for re-assignment of space for shared social and learning functions.

The original section of the building is a Robert Wilson design dating back to 1900 and is Grade B listed along with the adjacent schoolhouse, play area buildings, boundary walls and railings. Some single storey extensions were added in 1965 and the building last underwent a major refurbishment and upgrade, including all internal mechanical and electrical installations, in 1973 when it was catalogued and published as a model for the refurbishment of old primary schools for contemporary use. Original documents and publications are held in the school.

The school building became available when the former Kingsland Primary School moved into a new purpose built school in 2010. The authority took a strategic decision to examine the possibilities for keeping the school in use. The refurbished school now caters for diverse needs with three learning organisations co-located and sharing use of the building.

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EXAMPLE 4 / RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOL

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04.

APPROACH

The redesign of this two-storey building is centred on a large double height gathering space in the heart of the school.

This top lit space was the original atrium within the Victorian building, but had been concealed for many years while occupied by the former primary.

During the last refurbishment a ventilation/ air management system was installed within the roof space, although there is little anecdotal evidence that it was either used or effective. Along with the air management system installation, an existing floor void at first floor level was filled in to provide additional teaching space.

This removed a significant amount of natural daylight from the ground floor teaching area while also obstructing the natural airflow from ground floor to roof level.

Key design drivers

The planned refurbishment was to incorporate minimal structural modification of the building other than to comply with statutory regulations but it was considered necessary that the void be reopened for the improvement of natural light and ventilation.

• Improve efficiency and space use

• Rethinking existing use and space to keep an asset in use • Support economy of means • Permit co-location of service • Reinstatement of key spatial features

• Use natural light to enhance key learning and user experiences • Create a dynamic and stimulating learning environment • Create flexibility of purpose and allow shared use

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04 Meeting the needs The project successfully follows and meets the aims of the brief to create a renewed facility through careful budgeting, minimising major changes, and only replacing fabric where necessary.

Above: View showing opened up zone in the centre of the school providing top light and ventilation through minimal intervention. This simple move has re-activated a formerly under used area within the school.

Investment in the refurbishment has been cleverly allocated to reinstate original features of the building, which have been used to increase flexibility of use.

This strategy has directly created a useful new learning space.

In turn, the creation of the new learning space has freed area for use by the co-located services. The space needed to accommodate additional services has been well matched to the reduction in pupil roll.

The project and functional briefing has created a building where the best of the old has been retained, and re-thought and improved where necessary.

This small project also supports a sense of community and place through keeping an existing important well-liked building in use and with a new sense of purpose.

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05.

REORGANISING AND CREATING SPACE

The remodelling works have been used to create greater flexibility of use and operation The big multi-purpose top lit space is used throughout the day for a mixture of breakout activities, group work, active learning and quiet activities. On the upper level there is a small library and at the lower level the space has a range of flexible settings for all ages, including early years activity space.

Classrooms and storage have also be carefully re-thought to improve the building in use and to free up area for other uses Right: The centrally located learning space is shared by the full range of users in the building as a hub for learning and social activities.

Storage has been carefully and thoughtfully reorganised with excess storage areas reassigned for other functions.

Skilful attention has been paid to generating efficiencies in space use in this refurbishment in order to create value.

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• Programming learning space: Over the course of the day the dynamic of the atrium changes, at times buzzy but also offering the opportunity to be more intimate. Its place at the centre or ‘heart’ of the school ensures its continual use and a natural ‘ebb and flow’ of the school community • Whole school learning: The generous scale of the atrium space enables it to be used for large group gatherings, congregation, celebrations of achievement and worship. It is used to support curriculum delivery in new ways, such as ‘Whole School Learning’ with children working cooperatively and collaboratively across age groups in one big communal space

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• Rethinking space: The arrangement of semi open classrooms around the atrium provides a good balance of openness and privacy, interaction and focus • Meeting practical needs: In the classrooms deep alcoves provide recesses for storage and equipment – and in combination with lowered ceilings these act as a buffer to the noise and activity in the central space • Refreshing and refitting: The bright, modern classrooms provide a range of furniture for the mixed age groups with ample wall space for display of work, storage, whiteboard, projection, interactive whiteboards and pin boards • Sharing spaces and sharing benefits: As well as the central atrium space, the refurbished school also benefits from a separate dining hall and gym hall.

This is unusual for a small school, but all of these spaces are shared with two other agencies – the Tweeddale Centre and the Rosetta playgroup

EXAMPLE 4 / RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOL

07 The remodelled school provides an open and dynamic environment centred on a communal heart.

This arrangement of spaces offers choices for the community of learners in a natural ebb and flow of activity.

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06.

LEARNING POINTS

Example

Halyrude Primary School & Tweeddale Support Centre, Peebles

Scale

Small scale refurbishment

Type

19th Century listed primary school

Context

Rural town

Priorities

• Minimal funds were available for investment in the refurbishment • The need for savings through efficient use of education estate assets and by the management and co-location of services • High levels of community attachment to the building existing • The need for improved community and added neighbourhood services to support place

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

Principle 8: Schools should drive and support effective learning and teaching • Refurbishment based on small and intermediate change can create big impacts and offer value for money • Flexible educational spaces support interactions between school users and help support improved learning conditions and individual learning styles. The learning and investment strategy were driven by the commitment of the Head Teacher to create change through small scale but key interventions Principle 7: A well managed estate should represent and deliver best value • In this project the client vision and briefing process has captured strategic, spatial, learning and property drivers to deliver a highly cost effective approach to refurbishment. The example indicates how, with the right considerations, limited funds can be put to work to create real impact in improving learning conditions, supporting services and the community

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cont.

Key lessons

• As part of the briefing and assessment stages, reassigning space and increasing

and alignment

utilisation by shared use has helped support efficiency. This also informs the

with Scottish

creation of spaces that make a lively sense of purpose and place. The investment in

Government

the briefing and creation of a repurposed facility indicates good value at Halyrude

9 Principles for School Renewal

• Refurbishment is proving effective at a range of scales and budgets.

The approach at Halyrude prioritises key adaptions to the existing building that support improvements to learning through supporting settings for flexible and individual learning. Significant benefits have been gained without the need to adopt a strategy of full refurbishment

“Learners particularly enjoy the “This building allows us spaces they have now, which to do amazing things” permit us all to fully embrace Head teacher the activities offered through a curriculum for excellence.”

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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 01–07 Halyrude Primary School: A&DS

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

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