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Vtesley College progress deve' report
Wesley Colk development
Since the Board decided to build the new Wesley College on a site at Ludford Park, Ballinteer, Co. Dublin, many members of the Protestant community have shown a keen interest in the project. The friends of the school, and especially the parents, present and future, are naturally curious to know about the progress of our plans. It is the purpose of the present and future issues of this brochure to keep everyone informed. We should like to take the public into our confidence, and will welcome questions and comment. Principal.
Ludford Park, Ballinteer, Co. Dublin, is approximately six miles south of the centre of Dublin City. The area of the site is approximately fifty acres. Access to the site is from Ballinteer Road which runs along the western boundary.
At an early stage of planning it was decided that a 'campus' type layout would be preferable to a single building. The arrangement of the six separate buildings is determined by the size of the spans most suitable to the use of each building.
Secondly, the arrangement of the buildings is determined by a desire to create an internal network of pedestrian pathways connecting the buildings independent of a perimeter driveway for vehicles. It is therefore possible to circulate between buildings without having to cross a driveway
Thirdly, the buildings have been planned for economy, with rooms on both sides of internal corridors and hallways. To achieve the maximum sunshine in the rooms, the buildings are oriented with their long axis running north/south. The school buildings consist of six main blocks : two Residence Blocks, one for boys and one for girls, an Assembly Block, a Classroom Block, a Science Block and a Gymnasium. In the future editions of this publication we propose to describe each of these buildings in turn.
The aerial photograph on the opposite page shows the Ballinteer area with the Wesley College property outlined.
The architects for the new buildings are Michael Scott and Partners and the contractors are Messrs. G. and T. Crampton. Work began on the site in mid-June 1967, and a commemorative stone was unveiled on Founders' Day, 1st October, 1967.
BOY'S RESIDENCE
GIRLS RESIDENCE
SWIMMING POOL & GYMNASIUM
EXISTING ENTRANCE DRIVE
... • . CLASSROOM BU1LOING -------
SCIENCE. ARTS A CRAFTS BUILWNG
ASSEMBLY ■BUILWNG
SITE FOR FUTURE CHAPEL
NEW ENTRANCE DRIVE
some questions answered
What were the chief reasons for the decision to move the entire school to Ludford Park?
When Ludford Park was bought in 1964 the intention was to concentrate the Boarding Houses there and to continue the school in St. Stephen's Green. The announcement of State Capital Grants for school buildings made it possible to adopt the more economical and convenient plan to concentrate the whole college on the new site. Secondly, it was found that the cost of running separate centres for boarding and for teaching would incur a very heavy additional expenditure. Thirdly, the present school building could not be reconstructed to meet the needs and requirements of the Department of Education. Fourthly, the growth of traffic between Dundrum and the City would have made the transport of boarders from Ludford to St. Stephen's Green very difficult indeed. How much, approximately, will the whole scheme cost?
The estimated cost of the total scheme is £837,000.
site layout plan
What better facilities will the new school offer with regard to general teaching?
There will be more and larger classrooms, with specialist equipment in five extra-large rooms for the teaching of Modern Languages, Mathematics, History, Geography and Commerce. What kind of provision will be made for teaching Science?
The Science Department will be housed in a separate Science Block. It is hoped to provide four Laboratories and a Lecture Theatre. Will any Technical Training be introduced?
The curriculum will include instruction in Wood-Work and Metal-Work. Will Domestic Science be organised on a larger scale?
It will be expanded and there will be one very large kitchen divided into a number of self-contained units, each with its own cooker, bench and sink, where three or four students may work together.
Will any schemes have to be curtailed because of lack of funds?
What facilities will be provided for musical training?
Yes I The exclusion of the Chapel and Swimming Pool will amount to £111,500 approx., leaving the immediate building cost at £725,500 plus wage increases etc. of £37,000 making the total £762,500.
There will be three teaching rooms and three practice cubicles for piano. The choirs will rehearse in a small hall beside the Assembly Hall. Facilities are being provided for orchestral groups.
VIEW OF ENTRANCE
TO SCHOOL
What amenities will there be for the activities of Societies?
The small hall will seat two hundred for lectures and debates. The Science Lecture Theatre will also serve this purpose. Dramatics will be served by the large stage which is being provided, and by the small hall for regular dramatics by smaller groups.
What kind of library facilities will be provided?
The new Library will cover 1,200 sq. ft. and the adjoining store room and office an additional 250 sq. ft. Also adjoining the Library will be three special project class-rooms for Upper Sixth.
To what extent will Physical Education be provided for?
There will be one fully equipped Gymnasium and the existing barn, without equipment, will also be used. The curriculum will provide for two periods of Physical Education each week, one in the Gym, and the other in the barn. Thus two classes of twenty-five pupils will run concurrently.
How many pupils will the new school provide for?
There will be accommodation for 630 pupils. How will the school be streamed?
It will be a four stream school with 100 pupils, approximately, in each form. This would mean an average class of twenty-five. After Intermediate Certificate when optional courses are already provided the classes will be considerably reduced for many subjects.
How many Boarders will the school accommodate?
There will be accommodation for 112 boys and 112 girls. Two Residence Blocks are being built, the first floor of each providing Dormitory space which will be divided into sections. The school will provide for twenty Day-boarder boys and twenty Day-boarder girls who will stay on the premises until after Prep, each evening. There will be isolation wards and Nurse's quarters. In the main Assembly Block will be a prefects' Common Room. How will study be organised?
Will there be an expansion in the field of sport?
There will be more and better Rugby fields and Cricket and Hockey pitches and possibly other games. It is intended to lay an Athletics track.
The Boarders will study in various class-rooms, supervised by staff and prefects. The book-lockers will be in the classroom area. There will also be Day-rooms in the Residence Blocks for various groups of boys and girls.
What catering facilities will be provided?
The Assembly Block will have a dining-room to seat three hundred with tables for six or eight pupils. There will be two sittings for lunch so that all pupils may have a mid-day meal.
How will this affect the curriculum?
There will be a longer lunch hour and school will go on longer in the afternoon. It is proposed to operate a five day week.
How will the present fees compare with the fees in the new school?
The fees in Wesley, as in other schools, have to be increased from time to time. When the new school is opened it is not proposed to make any exceptional increase in fees.
What are the Transport facilities to Ludford Park?
If there is a sufficient demand special services will be provided from some point between Booterstown and Blackrock and from Terenure. At the moment there is a regular bus service to Ballinteer from the City Centre.
What will the new buildings be called?
It is proposed to transfer the names Embury and Epworth from existing houses. The name Ludford Park may also be retained.
When will the new school open? It is proposed to begin classes in September 1969. The opening ceremonies will probably be held on Saturday 7th June 1969.
progress report March 1968
Assembly Block
The reinforced concrete structural framework is approximately | complete. Internal walls and partitions have started. The mechanical and electrical contractors' work is well under way.
Girls' Residence The reinforced concrete structural framework is almost complete. Internal walls and partitions have started. Mechanical and electrical contractors' work is well under way. Boys' Residence The reinforced concrete structural framework is about i complete. Internal walls and partitions have just started. Mechanical and electrical contractors' work is under way.
Classroom Block The reinforced concrete columns from front to first floor are complete. Mechanical and electrical contractors are at work. Science Block The excavation for the basement and for the sub-structure generally is under way.
designed by Unit, printed by Beacon
Gymnasium and Swimming Pool Block
Some excavation has been completed.
Vtesley College progress report development
Vfesley Col lege development
Here is the second of six Progress Reports on the Buildings at Ludford Park and on the changes which are proposed when we discard old routines, often imposed on the College by the physical limitations of the old buildings, and adopt new ways in the wonderful facilities that will become available to us. The first issue was well received and we hope that this and future issues will prove as useful.
Principal.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Entrance Hall — Pupils Entrance Hall — Administration Concourse Cloaks Dining Hall Kitchen Service Lift Staff Toilets Kitchen Store Small Hall Stage Assembly Hall Music Teaching Music Practice Music Store Prefects' Common Room Domestic Ladies' Common Room Domestic Science Room Boardroom Principal's Office Bursar's Office General Office Staff Common Room Vice-Principal's Office Special Projects Room Librarian's Office Reference Library
Assembly Block
This is a single-storey building with a basement. The area of the ground floor is 27,000 square feet and the basement area is approximately 8,000 square feet. The building will function as the social and administrative centre of the whole school. The planning of the building has been determined primarily by the desire to provide two separate entrances, one for the pupils and the other for the staff and visitors; by the need to connect both these entrances efficiently to the Assembly Hall and Dining Hall; by the need, due to the conditions of the building's location in relation to the other buildings on the site to keep the kitchen off the external face of the building and provide concealed access to it; and finally, by the need to provide direct access to the open air for easy escape from the Assembly and Dining halls, should the need arise.
To separate them fully the two entrances are placed on opposite sides of the building. The entrance halls open into a common internal hallway containing space for coat racks for the pupils. Direct access is obtainable from the hallway to all the major elements of the accommodation with the exception of the Boardroom which is reached through the Assembly Hall. The Assembly Hall, is, however, intended to be used to give access not only to the Boardroom but also to the Domestic Science Room, Library and Special Projects Room at all times except those when such traffic would conflict with its own use.
Assembly Hall
The floor of the main body of the Assembly Hall which is designed to seat three hundred people is sunk below the level of the surrounding circulation space which gives access to the above perimeter rooms. When this circulation space is also used for seating, the capacity of the hall can be increased to accommodate six hundred and eighty eight persons. When the whole hall is used for standing assembly it is more than adequately big to contain the whole school having standing room for eight hundred and thirty persons. In fact the area of the Assembly Hall is considerably in excess of the Department of Education's standards and it s size has been agreed with them on the basis of the school numbers being such as to require a hall of at least this size. The area of the Small Hall is considered adequate because it can be united with the stage for the day-to day needs of drama and of music. Dining Hall
The Dining Hall is designed to accommodate the boarding school at one sitting and the whole of the school at two sittings. It will be furnished with tables for six or eight persons. The area of the hall provides approximately fifteen square feet per person and although its capacity can be increased we think that this can only be done by increasing the numbers at, and the size of, the tables and by sacrificing valuable crush and circulation space. Provision will be made in the layout of the kitchen to change
over to a cafeteria system when the demand for a light lunch at midday increases to the point where it is no longer reasonable to provide a full three course meal. Kitchen
The Kitchen with glazed wall tiles to door head level and vinyl asbestos floor tiles is adjacent to the Dining Hall. Cooking equipment will be divided between gas and electricity. Certain cooking operations are more economically performed by gas, and the provision of both fuels ensures that in the event of a power cut or strike the kitchen can be kept working. Library
In spite of the increasing use of new techniques in teaching, books remain the primary source of information and enlightenment, as well as of pleasure. So, the Library in the new school has been planned as one of its most important features. The general library occupies a spacious (40' x 30') room in the Assembly Block, with seating accommodation and tables for 34 pupils. The time-table will make provision for library periods, during which instruction will be directly related to the use of the library for project work and research.
The books will be arranged on open shelving, four of the stacks being free standing. Two of the latter are backed by pin-boards, to provide space for exhibition and display of project work. An annexe is planned as a reference room, with appropriate desks and seating. Immediately
adjacent are three rooms for private study and seminars for senior pupils. There is also a librarian's office, communicating with the general library by a counter and hatch.
The library will be in charge of a member of Staff with training in librarianship, whose time-table will include periods of supervision and instruction of classes using the library during regular school hours. The books will be catalogued in the Deweydecimal system, which is used in most public libraries, and issued by the ticket system which these libraries also use.
miscellaneous
The Boardroom is sized to accommodate twenty-four at a single table. A greater number could be accommodated with a more complex table arrangement.
The area of the Staff and Prefects' Common Rooms are based on an allowance of approximately 25 square feet per person which is the British Ministry of Education's standard. The ladies and gentlemen of the staff will share a Common-room which in itself is an innovation for Wesley. The large internal areas — Kitchen, Hallway, Small Hall and front of the Assembly Hall will have large rooflights for daylighting and ventilation. The Stage, the roof of which is higher than the main roof, will be equipped with clerestory lights at the front and back which will be designed to fall open in case of fire. In the Small Hall and the Assembly Hall the light from, and the view of, the rooflights will be diffused by louvres at ceiling-level. Surrounding and concealing these rooflights and the raised roof of the stage is a horizontal duct space which will enable these internal spaces to be mechanically ventilated. Mechanical ventilation will be essential for parts of the Basement, the Kitchen, both the Music Teaching and Practice Rooms (to prevent sound transfer both internally and externally), the Domestic Science Room and the Assembly Hall on certain occasions as, for example, when it is blacked out. The mechanical plant for this ventilation will be located in a space over the vertical ducts adjoining the Kitchen. The horizontal roof duct will connect directly with the Plant Room.
With the exception of the walls surrounding the kitchen and the side walls of the Small Hall and Stage all the other internal partitions will be solid from the floor to the head of the doors and glazed from the head of the doors to the ceiling. This, together with the internal rooflights, should eliminate the need for artificial lighting of the interior spaces during daylight. Some of the partitions will be sound insulated by means of double glazing and double walling, e.g. between each individual Music Teaching and Music Practice Room and also between the east and west perimeter rooms and the large interior spaces. Domestic Science Room
The new Domestic Science Room will be off the Assembly Block and will cover 1,300 square feet and the adjoining fitting room an additional 60 square feet. The facilities available will provide greater scope for individual work by each student. Practical cookery and assignment work will be served by four self-contained units along one wall, each containing sink with double draining-board, gas or electric cooker with ductless cooker hood, counter work space and storage cupboards. Extra equipment will include a refrigerator, washing machine, spin dryer, drying cabinet and two extra cookers. Three or four students will work in each unit either individually or together on assignment work, to include cookery, laundrywork and general home management. Thus, students will be given the opportunity to experiment with cookery
VIEW OF INTERIOR OF ASSEMBLY HALL
miscellaneous continued
recipes, become acquainted with modern labour saving devices and fully equip themselves for present day living. Practical needlework, to include dressmaking needlecrafts and household sewing will be carried in the central area of the room. Essentially this will consist of one long bench which will provide working area for pattern cutting, hand sewing and machine work on a larger scale. Dressmaking facilities will be enhanced by a separate dressing and fitting room containing mirror, hanging rail and storage cupboards. In this aspect of the subject students will be encouraged to use their own creative abilities to the full. Administrative Section
The offices in the Assembly Block are compact in design and situation and command easy access to the main Concourse and the rest of the building. They are ranged on either side of the entrance hall.
To the left is the General Office with a hatch-window just inside the main entrance. It adjoins the Bursar's Office. Beyond that, approached through a small ante-room, is the Principal's Office, which is thus afforded both privacy and quick and direct access to the secretarial and financial departments and —through a door beside the dining hall — to the school. The Photograph on the opposite page shows the Assembly Block under construction. In the foreground is part of the Classroom Block and in the left background is part of the Girls' Residence
the Basement
Heating for all buildings will be provided by a central boiler plant located in the basement. The heating medium will be lowpressure hot water and the boiler-plant will be oil fired and fully automatic. The boilers will be suitable for either gas or oil firing in case the cost of gas may drop sufficiently to compete with oil during the next few years. Oil, however, is still the cheaper fuel for large installations. Water will be circulated to the different buildings through insulated underground mains. In sizing the boiler plant, advantage will be taken of load diversity. For example, no additional boiler power will be required for swimming pool heating as this can be supplied at night.
Similarly, it is safe to assume that heating loads in Dormitory areas and Teaching areas will not coincide. Panel radiators will heat the perimeter rooms of the Assembly Block while warm air will heat the Assembly Halls and Dining Room. Although heat for all purposes will be generated centrally, hot water for domestic use will be stored locally in the different buildings in calorifiers connected to the heating mains. Cold water will be stored underground and distributed from two pressurised vessels of approximately 400 gallons each. This has the great advantage of eliminating large storage tanks on the roofs of individual buildings as well as ensuring balanced pressure at outlets. Flushing water will be stored locally to maintain the supply to lavatories in the event of a power failure. The Basement provides many extra facilities as well as the central heating. There is a
Records' Room for office use. There are staff lockers and toilets and a visitors' toilet. A store is provided to hold chairs for the Assembly Hall and Small Hall. Domestic Staff dining room, cloakroom and toilets are also provided. Vegetable, dry food and cold stores are adjacent and near the service lift. An incinerator room and a maintenance workshop are included. The Basement is serviced by a yard and a concealed ramp leading up to ground level.
■ Finance
In Progress Report No. 1 it was stated that the estimated cost of the total scheme, including the Swimming Pool and Chapel, is £837,000, and that the exclusion of the latter two items reduces it to £762,500. This statement needs clarification. £762,500 is the present estimated figure to cover the Contractor's costs only. It does not include the Professional Charges. Bank Interest, during the building period, or the cost of Furniture and Fittings. It is difficult at this juncture to give a total overall figure. Assuming we include the Swimming Pool, which is an integral part of the Gymnasium Block, it is probable that the figure will not be far from £900,000. This figure is subject to amendment in future Progress Reports, as more definite costs become available.
progress report June 68
Assembly Block The reinforced concrete structural frame is approximately | complete. Internal walls and partitions are under way. External walling is approximately | complete. Mechanical and Electrical Contractors' work is well under way. Plumbing is under way. Girls' Residence Block The reinforced concrete structural framework is complete. Internal walls and partitions are complete. External walling is complete. Windows to Ground Floor are complete. Windows to First Floor are | complete. Roof covering is complete. Floor screeding and plumbing is under way. Mechanical and Electrical Contractors' work is well under way.
Boys' Residence Block The reinforced concrete structural framework is complete. Internal and external walling and windows are under way. Plumbing and Mechanical and Electrical Contractors' work is well under way.
Classroom Block The reinforced concrete structural framework is approximately -j complete. Internal walls and partitions have started. Mechanical and Electrical Contractors' work is under way. Science, Arts and Crafts Block Excavation is complete and the reinforced concrete structural frame is under way. Drainage is approximately | complete.
Gymnasium Block Excavation is complete.
V\fes!eyColl< devebpmer
Vfesley College development
With this report on the progress of our new buildings at Ludford Park we reach the half-way mark in our series. It is pleasant to be able to report that the buildings themselves are well in hand; no serious delay has occurred in the work schedule. I trust that this edition will prove as interesting to its readers as the previous ones.
Ot Principal 1
juniors
ho us em as ter's fla t
-»
I____
seniors
GROUND FLOOR
1 Seniors' Dayroom
2 Juniors' Dayroom
3 Prefects' Bedsitter 4 Assistant Housemaster's Bedsitter 5 Sitting and Dining Area Housemaster's Flat 6 Kitchen Area 7 Bedroom 1 8 Bedroom 2 9 Bedroom 3 10 Bathroom 11 Parents' Reception
12 Junior Store 13 Junior Boot and Coat
14 Linen Room
15 Tea Kitchen 16 Calorifier 17 Senior Boot and Coat 18 Senior Store 19 Staff Toilet 20 Staff Bathroom
21 Staff Toilet 22 Staff Bathroom 23 Assistant Matron's Bedsitter
Residence Blocks
THE ACCOMMODATION
The accommodation in each block is arranged on two levels. At Ground Floor level Senior and Junior Day Rooms, Prefects' Bedsitting Rooms, Masters' and Mistress's Bedsitting Rooms and a Housemaster's/Mistress's Flat are planned on the perimeter of the building around a central service ''core'' containing toilets, cloakrooms, tea kitchen, linen room and staircases.
The senior staff quarters and Junior Day Rooms occupy the southern ends of the ground floors, bedsitting rooms are located on the east and west faces and the Senior Day Rooms occupy the north ends of the blocks.
It is assumed that the pupils will generally be out of doors when the sun is shining during their spare time and do not, therefore, require day rooms with a sunny aspect. Two separate entrances leading to two separate staircases are provided in each block for Juniors and Seniors. The entrances on the Ground Floor are on the opposite side of the block from their respective dormitories on the First Floor so that Senior Boys and Senior Girls enter their residences from a common outer space but occupy dormitories facing, in general, in opposite directions. The Junior Girls and Junior Boys, on the other hand, enter the buildings from opposite directions and occupy dormitories facing towards each other.
Length : 135 feet. Breadth : 67| feet.
◄ 3
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
1 Senior Dormitory 2 Junior Dormitory
3 Senior Toilets 4 Junior Toilets 5 Senior Bath Cubicles 6 Junior Bath Cubicles 7 Calorifier 8 Cleaners' Store
The Accommodation — continued
RESIDENCE BLOCKS—EXTERNAL FINISHES
At First Floor level the Dormitories occupy the perimeter of the building around a central service "core” containing separate Senior and Junior Toilets and Bathrooms.
First Floor and Roof Beams : exposed, board-marked concrete.
Copings : Precast concrete.
The Dormitory is divided into :
Walls : Sand coloured Calcium Silicate bricks.
(a) A Junior Dormitory containing 24 beds.
(b) A Senior Dormitory containing 84 beds. The Senior Dormitory is further divided into sections, 2 of 15 beds each and 2 of 27 beds each.
Mechanical ventilation and artificial lighting will be provided in the service "core" at ground level. At the First Floor the service "core" will be naturally lighted and ventilated from the roof.
Windows : Steel, painted very dark brown.
RESIDENCE BLOCKS—INTERNAL FINISHES
Walls : concrete blockwork and board-marked concrete, painted.
Floor: perimeter areas on both levels — non-woven nylon carpet; core areas — concrete tiles.
Ceiling : Generally exposed concrete ribbed slab, decorated except the Ground Floor "core" and surrounding corridor which has a suspended plaster ceiling.
Length : 135 feet. Breadth : 67| feet.
◄ 5
The Architects' View
The nature of the site together with the accommodation required were the basic determinants of the plan for the new school. The site slopes down generally from south east to north west, the flattest portion being the south eastern portion, the steepest being the parts of the site bordering the road and Delbrook Park, the adjoining property on the south west. The total fall from south east to north west across the site is approximately sixty feet. The slope is approximately 1 in 80 on the flatter south east portion of the site and is approximately 1 in 40 on the north east and south west portions. On the steepest part of the site at the north west along the road the slope averages about 1 in 10. The falls on the various parts of the site, the shape and size of the parts and the position of the existing house combine to determine the location of the playing fields and school buildings respectively on the south east and north east portions of the site.
At an early stage of planning it was agreed that a "campus” type layout would be preferable to a single building. It was felt by all concerned that the complexity and size of a single building would be quite unsuitable to the site and to the presence of the existing buildings. It was also considered that such a complex building would cost more than several simpler smaller buildings. The possibility of planning a "pavilion" type scheme with covered-way connections between blocks was discussed but advised against by us on the grounds that the connections would be complicated by the slope of the ground, and the whole 6
scheme tend to take on a very complex and "bitty" appearance.
The accommodation has been divided into different buildings in different ways at various stages of the development of the plans. In our first submission we proposed ten buildings inclusive of the existing building which were to be an Assembly/Dining Hall Block, an Administration/Library Block, a Classroom Block, a Science and Arts Block, a Gymnasia Block, two Residence Blocks (one for boys and one for girls), a Craftshop/Mechanical Plant Block, the existing house and a future Chapel. In a later submission the Assembly/Dining, Administration/Library and Gymnasia Blocks were combined into a single building and the Classroom and Science/Arts Blocks combined into one building in order to reduce the cost of the buildings and by having fewer buildings (six) to reduce the cost of site works. Finally we are now building eight buildings which are an Assembly/Dining/ Ad ministration/Library/Mechanical Plant Block, a Classroom Block, a Science/Arts/ Crafts Block, a Gymnasium/Swimming Pool Block, two Residences (boys and girls), the existing house and a future Chapel. The accommodation is grouped in this way partly on the basis of the function and partly on the basis of the physical form of the spaces required. For example, although there may not be a much greater affinity of function between art rooms and science labs, than between art rooms and general classrooms and wider spans required for both laboratories and art rooms suggested their combination in the same building.
End view of a Dormitory
>
■
Architects' Report — continued The general arrangement of the buildings is determined primarily by the natural subdivision of the college into school accommodation and boarding accommodation. The boarding accommodation is placed adjacent to the existing house and accommodation common to both the school and boarders (the Assembly Block, Gymnasium/Swimming Pool Block and Chapel) is placed more or less between the boarding accommodation and the school proper. Secondly, the arrangement of the buildings is determined by a desire to create an internal network of pedestrian pathways connecting the buildings independently of a perimeter arrangement of driveways for vehicular access. With the exception of the existing house which by its location in relation to the existing drive is cut off from the remainder of the college, it is possible to circulate between buildings without having to cross a driveway.
Thirdly, the arrangement of the buildings, is determined by considerations of orientation in relation to their internal planning. Generally speaking the buildings have been planned for economy with rooms on both sides of internal corridors and hallways. To achieve the maximum sunshine in the rooms the buildings are therefore oriented with their long axis running north-south. (An exception is the Gymnasium/Swimming Pool Block which opens one long side to the south.) The Classroom Block functions as the circulation centre, although not the social centre, of the campus. This is the first place 8
that day pupils come to in the morning to leave their books and coats before going to assembly. The ground floor of the building has been set back to provide a colonade which acts as a covered way and connects the Chapel, Classroom, Science and Arts, Gymnasium and Assembly Blocks to one another. In this way the disadvantage of exposed circulation of the campus layout has been largely mitigated. The position of each of the buildings in relation to each other has been determined by the need to have the Classroom Block which contains the cloakrooms, toilets and lockers for the whole school central to all other teaching spaces; the need to have the Assembly Block which is as much a part of the boarding accommodation as of the school accommodation and which is the building with which the public will have most contact close to the Residences and with direct access from the driveway; the need to have the Chapel which may be used by the public close to the entrance drive; the need to have vehicle access to the workshops in the Science and Arts Block whilst keeping vehicles to the perimeter of the campus; and the need to have as direct access as possible from the changing rooms in the Gymnasium Block to the playing fields. It is considered that the width of the existing driveway is insufficient to carry the larger volume of traffic which will be generated when the school is in operation. The existing exit from the drive on to Ballinteer Road is extremely dangerous. An entrance at the lower end of the site will be necessary for pedestrians to provide a way as direct as possible from the bus stop to the school buildings. These factors have led to the
proposal to make a new driveway wide enough to take two way traffic and joining Ballinteer Road at the lower end of the site where the road is straighter and less dangerous. A roundabout at the junction of the drive and the road will enable parents to drop and pick-up children at this point and so prevent congestion on the driveway and is designed in such a way that it will prevent traffic speeding out on to the road.
Future expansion, which it is considered will be achieved by means of additional buildings rather than by the expansion of individual buildings, can take place south of the existing house in the walled gardens (this area has already been tentatively designated for future staff housing) and to a limited extent to the north and east of the proposed new buildings. It will not, however, be possible to expand the school westwards without conflicting with the requirement to keep vehicular traffic to the perimeter of the campus. Because of the sloping nature of the ground and the asymmetrical nature of the existing buildings and driveways and because of the varied nature of the required accommodation which results in buildings of varied shape and size it was decided that the relationship of the buildings should be asymmetrical. It is proposed that a considerable amount of tree planting should be done to shelter the driveway, to screen the Car Park from view, provide a wind break for the central area of the campus and generally to improve the appearance of the fields and their boundaries which make up the site for the new buildings. In order to attain a visual order in the layout
View of Girls' Residence Block ►
Architects' Report — continued
and relationship of the various buildings with the campus system it was considered essential that the buildings themselves be simple in form and detail. Quite sufficient "interest” will be given by the asymmetry of the layout so that any tendency towards complexity in the form of the buildings themselves would tend to cause a visual confusion in the whole scheme. Partly, therefore, for this reason we have made the outline on plan of all the buildings a simple rectangle. Similarly it was decided to make all of the buildings with basically the same materials and simple system of construction. We believe that only by imposing such a discipline on the form of the buildings can we achieve a sense of order and clarity in the scheme. This discipline can of course demand compromises in the structure and the planning of the buildings but their resultant simplicity of form should make for easier maintenance and easier adaptation to future, inevitable, changes in use.
The buildings have not been designed for individual expansion. It is considered that when necessary expansion of the accommodation can be achieved by internal rearrangements and changes in use together with the construction of new buildings. It has been our main aim in designing the new school to provide with the accommodation, the buildings and their layout a simple background which will impose itself as little as possible on the functioning and development of the school and perhaps stimulate this development. We hope that we will have achieved our aim. 10 •
Progress report October 68
Assembly Block Structural Frame : complete.
Roofing : complete. External Walling : complete.
Windows : complete except for decoration.
Ceilings : under way, should be complete by end of October.
Floor Screeding : virtually complete. Plumbing : virtually complete.
Mechanical : well under way. Electrical : well under way.
Internal Walling : complete except for decora tion.
Boys' Residence Block
Internal Doors : under way.
Structural Frame : complete.
Internal Partitions : under way.
Roofing : complete.
Floor Screeding : virtually complete.
External Walling : complete.
Plumbing : under way.
Windows & Glazing : complete.
Meeh. & Elect. : work continuing.
Internal Walling : virtually complete. Internal Doors : under way.
Girls' Residence Block Structural Frame : complete.
Floor Screeding : under way; virtually com plete.
Roofing : complete.
Plumbing : virtually complete.
External Walling : complete. Windows : complete.
Mechanical : work continuing. Electrical : work continuing.
Glazing : complete.
Classroom Block
Internal Walling : virtually complete.
Structural Frame : virtually complete.
Internal Doors : under way.
External Walling : 50% complete.
11
Internal Walling : under way.
External Steps : under way.
Plumbing : under way.
External Paving : Hardcore laid.
Mechanical : under way.
Roads : under way.
Electrical : under way.
Cricket Pitch/Hockey Fields : levelling com plete; preparation complete; seeding complete.
Science, Arts & Crafts Block
Tennis Courts : cutting and filling complete; preparation under way.
Structural Frame : 30% complete. Mechanical : under way.
Electrical : under way. Gymnasium Building
Excavation & Foundations : complete. Structural Frame : under way. Pool
Excavation : complete.
Hardcore : work under way. Site Works
Soil Drainage : virtually complete.
Surface Water Drainage : virtually complete. Levelling : under way. 12
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progress report B
Vtesley College development
Since the third Progress Report appeared there has been a noticeable change in the appearance of the buildings on the new site. The external work on four of them is virtually complete and it is now possible to get a comprehensive impression of the final appearance of the complex. Moreover, as will be seen from the detailed reports which follow, much of the internal work is well advanced and I hope that with a continuance of favourable weather conditions and a settled industrial situation, nothing will interfere with this very satisfactory progress.
Principal 1
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
1 Girls' Toilet 2 Boys' Toilet 3 Lobby 4 Female Staff Toilet 5 Male Staff Toilet 6 Cleaners' Store 7 Entrance Hall 8 Tuck Shop 9 Dispensary 10 Girls' Cloaks 11 Boys' Cloaks 12 Stationery Shop 13 Electrical Distribution
Classroom Block The Classroom Block functions as circulation centre, although not the social centre, of the Campus. This is the first place that day pupils come to in the morning to leave their books and coats before going to Assembly. The ground floor of the building has been set back to provide a colonnade which acts as a covered way and connects the Chapel, Classroom, Science and Arts, Gymnasium and Assembly Blocks to one another. In this way the disadvantage of exposed circulation of the Campus lay-out has been largely mitigated. The set-back of the ground floor providing the colonnade which is vital to this circulation results from superimposing the area required for classrooms, locker space and circulation on one floor, over the smaller areas required for cloaks, tuck shop, stationery shop, toilets and entrance hall on the ground floor.
The position of each of the buildings in relation to each other has been determined by the need to have the Classroom Block which contains the cloakrooms, toilets and lockers for the whole School central to all other teaching spaces; the need to have the Assembly Block, which is as much a part of the Boarding accommodation, as of the School accommodation and is the building with which the public will have most contact, close to the Residences and with direct access from the driveway; the need
to have the Chapel, which may be used by the public, close to the entrance drive; the need to have vehicle access to the Workshops in the Science and Arts Block whilst keeping vehicles to the perimeter of the Campus; and the need to have as direct access as possible from changing rooms in the Gymnasium Block to the playing fields.
The Classroom area has been determined by four factors. One, the standards of the Department of Education; two, concern to provide a square room for flexibility of use related to a square structural bay for simplicity in lay-out; three, the class size, which although programmed for twenty five, may vary from twenty to thirty; four, the use of standard bricks and blocks in the construction which determine the basic dimensional module of 9". The shape of the proposed classroom (nominally 22' 6" x 22' 6") is such that it can contain four rows of seven single desks or four rows of four double desks (or single desks placed together in pairs) arranged in the conventional manner. The larger area of the Special Subject classrooms is intended to provide space for the equipment which will be required for demonstration purposes. Modern languages, history, mathematics and commerce will be taught in these classrooms. The locker sizes, which are based on the standards in use in English Secondary Schools, have determined the space required. Space for lockers for the whole school has been provided. Cloakroom space is provided on the standards of the Department of Education. Cloak space for the whole School has been provided. Apart from some toilets in the Gymnasium Block, all toilets
3
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
GYMNASIUM & SWIMMING POOL BLOCK <
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FIRST FLOOR PLAN
1 General Classroom
2 Special Classroom 3 Light Well 4 Book Lockers
for the Day School will be situated in the Classroom Block. The number of fittings to be provided has been based on the number required by the Department of Education for the Day pupils only, on the assumption that at the peak period, in the morning, the Boarders will have access to them before the Day pupils arrive and that in any case some toilets have been provided in the Boarders' Residences.
ceiling. Partitions between classrooms will not be glazed. Television outlets are provided in all classrooms together with facilities for the later installation of a closed-circuit T.V. system.
The classrooms are arranged on each side of a long central hallway which contains the staircases and book lockers and which will provide adequate crush and circulation space for the pupils when changing classes. Half of the classrooms face East and half West. Six of the general classrooms will be separated by sliding folding doors in order to provide, by combination, large, easily supervised, spaces for Boarders' study. The toilets and cloaks have been planned at opposite ends of the entrance hall on the ground floor. Both spaces are accessible by the two small staircases at each end of the first floor hallway. The space for cloaks has not been subdivided into two separate spaces for boys and girls in order to allow for freer movement through the space.
Length : 220 feet. Breadth : 66 feet.
◄
Supplementary day lighting and natural cross ventilation will be achieved in the classrooms by roof lights and ventilators in the roof of the building and achieved in the toilets and cloaks by means of light wells located in the first floor hallway. These light wells will also provide light and ventilation for the hallway. Additional light for the hallway will be provided by partially glazed partitions between it and the classrooms. The partitions will be glazed as in the Assembly Block, from door-head to
5
The History Room
One of the Special classrooms has been set aside for History teaching and is designed to meet the needs of the "new approach" which is being encouraged and adopted in progressive schools. An airy room, 28' 1|" x 22' 6", will accommodate 28 separate table-type desks, a capacious teacher's table and a display, storage and work unit. The latter is designed to house a film and slide projector and equipment and faces, at the top of the room, a wide, folding blackboard and a screen. Here, too, will be fitted at ceiling level, a map-case carrying a number of wall maps on the roller-blind principle. Ample areas are provided on the walls for pin-board display. Shelves, drawers and racks in the storage unit will hold books, folders, charts, models and files.
While reference and text books with special reference to History will be available in this room, they are not intended to supplant the place or function of the main library where the research rooms will be used by specialists and sixth form students.
Modern Language Teaching
Modern Language Teaching
During the last ten years, there has been a considerable change in the methods and approach to teaching Modern Languages. The new methods, with their emphasis on the oral aspect of language, call for the use of equipment such as tape-recorders, record players and film projectors. It will be one of the great advantages of the move to our new premises that provision has been made for a room in which this equipment can be permanently installed. Not only the apparatus but the tapes, records, etc., will be conveniently housed in a room designed for the purpose. The Modern Language room in the Classroom Block occupies a corner site and measures 28' 1|" x 22' 6''. Along one wall there is a bench with cupboard and drawer space for storage. One end of the bench is provided with three cubicles to house individual tape-recorders at which students may practise language drills at their own speed. A suitable screen will be placed on one wall corresponding to a projector site at the opposite end of the room. This screen will also facilitate the use of an over-head projector. The problem of blackout will be solved by the use of special curtaining. The gain in efficiency should make a tremendous difference to the speed and interest of learning.
Classroom Block under construction >
8 .
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Progress report March '69
CLASSROOM BLOCK—EXTERNAL FINISHES Columns, First Floor and Roof beams : exposed, board-marked concrete. Copings : Precast concrete. Walls : Sand coloured Calcium Silicate bricks. Windows : Steel, painted very dark brown.
Suspended ceiling : 75% complete. Joinery Fittings : 30% complete.
Precast stair units : under way.
Handrails : under way. Plumbing : virtually complete.
Meeh. & Elect. : virtually complete.
CLASSROOM BLOCK—INTERNAL FINISHES
Decoration : under way.
Walls : Concrete blockwork and board-marked concrete painted.
Girls' Residence Block
Ground Floor: Black flooring asphalt.
Structural Frame : complete.
First Floor: Non-woven nylon carpet.
Roofing : complete.
Ceiling : Exposed concrete ribbed slab-painted.
External Walling : complete.
Windows & glazing : complete. Internal Walling : complete.
Assembly Block
Structural Frame : complete.
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Internal Doors : complete.
Ceilings : complete.
Roofing : complete.
Floor Screeding : complete.
External Walling : complete.
Floor Coverings : 50% complete.
Windows & glazing : complete.
Joinery Fittings : 70% complete.
Internal Walling : complete.
W.C. partitions : under way.
Internal doors : complete.
Decoration : virtually complete.
Internal partitions : 60% complete.
Precast stair units : under way.
Floor screeding : 90% complete.
Handrails : under way.
Plumbing : complete. Mechanical : complete.
Electrical : complete.
Boys' Residence Block Structural Frame : complete. Roofing : complete. External Walling : complete.
Windows & glazing : complete.
Internal Walling : complete.
Internal Doors : complete.
Classroom Block
Internal Walling : 60% complete.
Structural Frame : complete.
Internal Doors : frames in position.
Roofing : complete.
Floor Screeding : none.
External Walling : complete.
Joinery Fittings : under way.
Windows & glazing : complete except for ventilators.
W.C. partitions : under way.
Precast stair units : under way.
Internal Walling : 95% complete.
Handrails : under way.
Internal Doors : frames complete.
Plumbing : 30% complete.
Sliding-folding partitions : under way.
Floor Screeding : 60% complete.
Joinery Fittings : under way.
Mechanical : 40% complete.
Electrical : 30% complete.
Gymnasium Block Structural Frame : 70% complete.
W.C. partitions : under way.
Windows : manufactured but not fitted.
Floor Screeding : complete.
Precast stair units : under way.
Pool
Joinery Fittings : 60% complete.
Handrails : under way.
Excavation : complete.
W.C. partitions : under way.
Plumbing : 70% complete.
Blinding concrete : complete.
Decoration : 60% complete.
Mechanical : 50% complete.
Site Works
Precast stair units : under way.
Electrical : 60% complete.
Ceilings : complete.
Handrails : under way.
Plumbing : complete. Mechanical : complete.
Electrical : complete.
Soil Drainage : complete except for covers. Surface Water Drainage : virtually complete.
Science, Arts & Crafts Block
Levelling : under way.
Structural Frame : complete.
External Steps : cast but not in position.
Roofing : complete.
External Paving & Roads : 20% of edge trim complete.
External Walling : complete.
Cricket Pitch/Hockey Fields : 70% complete.
Windows & glazing : under way.
Tennis Courts : 50% complete.
11
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VtesleyColleSg progress report 9 development
Vtesley Col lege development
The majority of the readers of these reports had the opportunity on Saturday, 7th June to see the New Campus and thus put all the previous information they have had into perspective. Much remains to be done, but I am confident that the school will open on the 10th September as planned. The builders, G. and T. Crampton, Ltd., are making up for time lost due to unforeseen delays. The original contract date was 30th June. No less than 47 days have been lost through strikes and bad weather. This would put the hand-over date back to 17th September. They assure me, however, that they will hand over on 1st September provided there are no further difficulties.
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GROUND FLOOR PLAN
1 Entrance 2 Cloaks 3 Cleaners' Store 4 Darkroom 5 Female Staff Toilet 6 Male Staff Toilet 7 Biology Plant Room 8 Library 9 Science Demonstration 10 Art Room 12 Geography 13 Biology 14 Preparation 15 Physics 16 Chemistry
Science, Arts and Crafts Block
The slope of the site enables a semi basement housing the Metalwork and Woodwork Shops and Stores to be provided under one end of the building.
The Accommodation
In order to provide the maximum wall space for shelving and display in the laboratories and Art Rooms the external walls are carried up solid to door height with continuous glazing up to underside of roof.
A separate building has been planned for the Science Laboratories and Art Rooms because these rooms need to be wider than the normal.
The ceilings are designed at a higher level than in the Classroom Block in order to provide adequate light and ventilation in the rooms.
The Laboratories are nominally 28' 1|" wide by 33' 6” long.
Television outlets are provided in the rooms together with facilities for the later installa tion of a closed-circuit T.V. system.
The rooms are arranged on either side of a large central hallway in a similar fashion to those in the Classroom Block. In the central hallway are located a Cloaks Space, a Cleaners Store, a Science Darkroom, Staff Toilets, an indoor Plant Room and court and a Science Library space. Along one side of the Hallway are arranged two Chemistry Laboratories with a common Preparation Room, a Physics Laboratory and Physics Preparation Room and a Biology Laboratory.
Along the other side of the Hallway are arranged one Art Room, an Arts and Crafts Room, a Science Demonstration Room, with tiered seating, and a Geography Room.
◄ Length : 154 feet. Breadth : 82| feet.
The Entrance to the Building is at one end of the Hallway; a staircase from the opposite end of the Hallway gives easy access to the Greenhouse and Potting Shed from the Biology Laboratory. 3
BASEMENT PLAN 1 Metalwork 2 Store 3 Woodwork
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The specialist rooms for Science, Arts and Crafts are situated in a separate block at the north end of the site. There are four laboratories: two for Chemistry and one each for Physics and Biology, a Science demonstration room and two Art rooms, a Metalwork room and a Woodwork room. Besides these this block contains ancillary preparation and store rooms, a biology plant room, a cloakroom and a Geography room. The laboratories are equal in size, measuring 28' 1|" x 33' 6" and are designed to accommodate a maximum of 24 pupils each. The usual services of gas, water and electricity are laid on but a novel feature of the Physics and Biology laboratories, where the island benches are movable, is the provision of floor sockets across the centre of the rooms. This is in accordance with modern practice, providing for the greatest versatility, while ensuring that electrical power is always convenient. The maximum amount of wall space, which is essential for displaying charts and diagrams has been provided and it will be possible to darken the rooms when viewing films or educational television programmes. The laboratories will be equipped with overhead projectors and television sets. The piping in the Physics laboratory is entirely of plastic in order to avoid interference with magnetic measurements. The laboratory is wired for low voltage in addition to the normal supply. The Science demonstration room will nave tiered seating to accommodate 100 and will have a large demonstration bench equipped
with all services. Provision will be made here for blackboard and film projection.
The central passage of the building contains the cloakroom, biology plant room and Science library. The cloakroom is provided for advanced work in optics while also providing an area for photographic processing. The biology plant room, which is completely enclosed in glass, besides providing an interesting focal point for the building will enable pupils to observe and study various forms of plant life at first hand. The room will be heated, enabling more exotic types of plants to be grown. Besides catering for the conventional forms of Art, the Art rooms will be equipped with a potter's wheel and drying kiln to facilitate work with clays.
The metalwork and woodwork rooms contained in the basement will be well equipped with power tools such as lathes, saws and drills for wood and metal work. A special soldering bench will be provided. With the space and facilities available in the new Science and Arts and Crafts Block the ease and efficiency of teaching will be greatly enhanced.
VIEW OF RESIDENCES, ASSEMBLY BLOCK, CLASSROOM BLOCK AND GYMNASIUM FROM THE SOUTH-EAST
GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
The Geography Room has been furnished with twin tables to facilitate the study of Ordnance Survey maps. A storage unit at the back of the room will incorporate a map tracing table, display cabinet and a sink, besides space for storing maps, charts, geological specimens, film strips, slides, and survey equipment.
Provision has been made for black-out and a film strip projector, an overhead projector, and a cine projector will be available for use. A television outlet is provided. Maps will hang from a rail fixed above the chalk boards and a globe will be suspended from the ceiling adjacent to the teacher's table. Pinboards along three walls will provide adequate space for display purposes.
A school weather station is planned and this will be sited in an open space convenient to the Geography Room. The small stream flowing through the grounds and the hills, which tower above the school and provide magnificent views of Dublin Bay, are additional facilities available to potential geographers at Ludford.
► At the Opening of the new Wesley College the Principal, Rev. Gerald Myles (right) chats with President de Valera, the Minister for Education, Mr. Brian Lenihan, and the Chairman of the Board of Governors, Rev. Dr. Holland. 8
Progress report Mid-June '69
Assembly Block : Virtually complete. Girls' Residence Block : Virtually complete.
Boys' Residence Block : Virtually complete. Classroom Block : Virtually complete.
GYMNASIUM BLOCK Structural Frame : complete. Windows : 30% complete. Roofing : complete.
External Walling : 50% complete.
SCIENCE, ARTS & CRAFTS BLOCK
Internal Walling : 20% complete.
Structural Frame : complete.
W.C. partitions : on site.
Roofing : complete.
Precast Stair Units : under way.
External Walling : complete.
Handrails : on site but not fixed.
Windows & Glazing : complete. External Painting : complete.
Electrical : 20% complete. POOL
Excavation : complete. Internal Walling : complete.
Blinding concrete : complete.
Internal doors : frames in position, some doors in position.
Reinforcement of base : in position.
Floor Screedings: complete.
Concreting of base : under way.
Joinery Fittings : under way.
SITEWORKS
W.C. partitions : under way.
Soil Drainage : virtually complete.
Precast Stair Units : under way.
Surface Water Drainage : virtually complete.
Handrails : on site but not fixed.
Site levelling : 60% complete.
Plumbing : 30% complete.
External Steps : 75% complete.
4
Mechanical: 60% complete.
Precast Concrete paving : 60% complete.
VIEW OF THE SCIENCE, ARTS, AND CRAFTS BLOCK
Electrical : 50% complete.
Roads & Paths : 60% complete.
11
Cricket Pitch & Hockey fields: 80% complete.
Tennis Courts : 75% complete.
SCIENCE, ARTS & CRAFTS BLOCK — EXTERNAL FINISHES
Columns, Ground Floor and Roof Beams : exposed, board-marked concrete. Copings : precast concrete.
Walls : Sand coloured Calcium Silicate bricks.
Windows : Steel, painted very dark brown. INTERNAL FINISHES Walls : Concrete blockwork and boardmarked concrete painted.
Ground Floor: Sheet vinyl with welded joints.
Workshop Floor: Edge grain Oregon pine woodblock with granolithic to Forge Area. Ceiling : Exposed concrete ribbed slab, painted.
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12
Vtesley College progress development report H
Vtesley College development This is the last issue of the Progress Reports on our building scheme. I hope the reader will agree that they achieved their purpose in keeping all our friends informed on the nature of each separate building and the relation of each to the whole campus and to the work of the school. These reports have been prepared and edited by Mr. George A. Magee, M.A., the Head Resident Master. For myself and for all who enjoyed the series I pass to him our hearty thanks and congratulations.
My hopes that we would open as planned on 10th September were not fulfilled. However, we did open on the 17th. To enable us to open within a week of the target date was a fine achievement by the Contractors, considering the extent of the work. Even the Swimming Pool was ready, with temporary connections, for the Swimming Gala on the 24th September. Swimmers had a ten-day foretaste of the pleasures to come. The school settled down very quickly. The one hundred new pupils had an unusual advantage in so far as the campus was new to us all. After a wonderful Autumn we have had some severe weather to test the campus lay-out with its open spaces between the buildings. No undue hardships have been experienced. The air and space have created great appetites, which were not anticipated when the Governors were forecasting the increased costs in the new conditions I All is now set for a period of expansion of the enrolment and, more importantly, for expansion in the depth and range of our work with the girls and boys entrusted to us. "We'll praise Him for all that is past, And trust Him for all that's to come".
Gymnasium Block
The Accommodation This building houses at Ground Floor level the Gymnasium and Gymnasium store and changing accommodation at two levels along the north side of the building.
The Girls changing accommodation is at semi-basement level and the Boys changing accommodation is at gallery level above the Gymnasium. At each level, the accommodation comprises, a changing room capable of taking six teams, toilet, shower area, and instructors' room.
Storage lockers for pupils are provided along the access corridor at each level. The Plant Room housing pool filtration plant and air handling plant for the Gymnasium is located at Basement level between the Gymnasium and the swimming pool. The building is designed so that pupils circulate from the school complex for Gymnasium classes by doors on the west face and to and from the games fields by doors on the south side of the building.
The Gymnasium and changing areas are heated by ducted warm air and ventilation is provided by roof extract fans. The lighting of the gymnasium area is by special protected light fittings. The area of the Gymnasium is based on the standards of the Department of Education and on those of English secondary schools. A variable system of gymnasium apparatus is provided which permits of the gymnasium area being cleared for games. Provision is
made and the floor is marked for basketball, badminton and volley ball.
The Swimming Pool is at present outdoor but may in the future be covered by an extension of the Gymnasium structure. Account has been taken of the possibility of extension in the detailing of the structure of the Gymnasium Block. The size of the Swimming Pool is based on the recommendations of the British Ministry of Science and Education and is, at 25 metres, the shortest pool used for championship swimming at county and district level in England. It is not long enough for national championships.
GYMNASIUM BLOCK—External Finishes Columns, floor and roof beams : exposed, board marked concrete. Copings : precast concrete.
Windows and sills : steel, painted very dark brown. Internal Finishes
Walls : concrete blockwork and board marked concrete, painted. Gymnasium Floor: Krommenie gymnasium lino on resilient underlay.
Floor of Changing Areas : black, acid resistant, asphalt. Ceilings : exposed concrete ribbed slab throughout, painted.
Gymnasium : south side
Cycle Shelter
The cycle storage consists of four freestanding roofed shelters which cover a total of 264 bicycles. Space is provided at each end for parking of motor cycles and scooters. The cycle storage area is surrounded by a brick screen wall. Cottages
The two cottages presently being built at the North end of the site each provide the following accommodation : Entrance Hall, Living Room, Dining Area, Kitchen Area, Bathroom and separate w.c., three bedrooms and an external store. Each cottage has a small front and back garden. Domestic Staff Building
The Domestic Staff Building is built as an adjunct to the compound of old buildings, comprising Ludford House and outbuildings and is, therefore, designed in the same idiom as and built in similar materials to the old buildings. The Building provides accommodation at Ground Floor level for three male domestic staff and at Ground and First Floor levels for five female domestic staff who have a separate entrance to the building. Each of the female domestic staff has a separate bedroom and use of a commonroom with tea-making facilities.
these will quickly restore the beauty of the rural setting of the college. The avenue will be bordered with a line of poplars, and ornamental trees will add a note of colour to the overall composition. Creepers have already been planted to clothe many of the walls and blocks of ground cover plants have been added to the sweep of the lawns. Grass is growing well on areas already seeded. The new junior playing fields laid out on the lawn of the original mansion comprise a cricket pitch and two hockey pitches. The cricket pitch is underlaid with breeze and will be ready for use during the next summer term. The hockey pitches, for which extensive drainage proved necessary, should be playable from September 1970 onwards.
Progress report November '69 Report on Progress at end of November 1969
Assembly Block : Complete.
Girls Residence Block : Complete. Boys Residence Block : Complete
Classroom Block : Complete Science Arts and Crafts Block : Complete except for workshops at lower ground floor level which are 80% complete.
Gymnasium Block : Complete except for flooring of Gymnasium Store.
Two Cottages : Cottage A : 70% complete.
Cottage B : 50% complete. Staff Residence Building : 70% complete. Bicycle Shelter: 60% complete.
Siteworks : 85% complete.
Landscaping
The architects have gone to a great deal of trouble to enhance the richly wooded surroundings, and existing trees have been retained wherever at all possible. At present some 140 new trees are being planted, and
Swimming Pool
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