Shawlands Academy - Visual Brief

HEADLINES “Not as boring” Too angular, forbidding, drab and restrictive. Needs to be much more fluid, less like a jail “Change the railings” Railings are too high and not welcoming - they act as a barrier and are uninviting “More trees and nicer ones” Trees block out the light and are too tall, not enough plants “More colourful” Using bright colours to liven up the school instead of it being plain and boring

SHAWLANDS SCHOOL GATE PROJECT VISUAL BRIEF

“Light” We want a brighter more welcoming entrance to the school which is more inviting to the students

HOW WE FEEL ABOUT OUR SCHOOL • Too angular • Forbidding • Drab • Restrictive KEY CONCEPTS • Colour makes a difference • Use rigid shapes which harmonise with angular facade • Want to use lighting to make building more welcoming

COMMENTS • Initially we thought about using fluid, rounded shapes to smooth away the facade’s angles. We then decided to use a design which harmonised with the angular building and created a canopy, using more rigid shapes.

• We thought about using warm colours for our lighting intervention as we wanted it to feel welcoming and for passers by to remember the building.

• We wanted the design to be eco-friendly and thought about using recycled plywood for the canopy.

HOW WE FEEL ABOUT OUR SCHOOL • Plain and boring • Jail-like • Doesn’t look like a school • Not looked after KEY CONCEPTS • Would like school to be bright and colourful • Use splats of different colour paint and mirrors • Want to show that we’re a creative school • Want the school to look friendly

COMMENTS • The walls of the school building are brown and dark so we’d like to brighten it up using different colours across the front of the school. If we had the money we’d change the colours every couple of months, it would be an ongoing project.

• To show we’re a creative school we’d use bright colours to make it look more friendly and paint the rails so it didn’t look as jail-like. We’d like the school to be bright at night time as well - we’d use mirrors to reflect coloured lights and stained glass windows with lights beneath them so that they reflect onto other buildings.

HOW WE FEEL ABOUT OUR SCHOOL • Dull and no colour • Building quite attractive • Trees and fence too tall and shade out light • Fence acts as barrier KEY CONCEPTS • Building needs to be livened up • Use symbols relating to education • Warm lighting to make building feel inviting

COMMENTS

• We like the way the building looks already but it needs livening up.

• Our idea would be to make little additions to improve what’s already there.

• A school is supposed to nurture - so we thought about using flowers and having them growing up the building like ivy.

• We thought about using apples to symbolise education - on the railings.

• We’d like to use light to emphasise the flowers at night time and use warm colours to make it feel inviting.

HOW WE FEEL ABOUT OUR SCHOOL • Boring • Scabby • Ugly • Old • Down with the railings • Not welcoming • Not enough trees KEY CONCEPTS • Want the school to epitomise: warmth, security, friendship, unity • Use hand designs to symbolise diversity • Light trees • Change fencing

COMMENTS • We’d like the school to be bright, welcoming and fun. We used intertwining hands to emphasise togetherness and team work and reflect the multi-cultural nature of our school.

• One idea for the railings was to replace them with imprints of hands to create interesting shapes representing protection and security and which can be used as seats.

• We’d use lighting to uplight the trees using bright colours to make them look different. We’d like to change the fencing and replace it with bright coloured panels which could move in the wind.