PROPOSED 2FEPRIMARY SCHOOL, CHRISTCHURCH, SPITALFIELDS
The initial use of this site was as a grave yard for Christchurch. This space was open and permeable, allowing pedestrians a green space through which to traverse from Brick Lane to Commercial Rd. As soon as the original school was built this access was blocked to pedestrians with all views between the two streets being severed. By looking to build along this axis through the site, the original notion of movement from one end of the site to other is re-invented and then used to describe another journey; the journey of learning that the children who come to the school will undertake.
Using the relationship the original VictorianSchoolBuilding has with Brick Lane as the starting point of this journey, the proposed design is able to traverse the site growing from this point. The scale of this original Victorian building is used to describe the small local community that the school currently serves. The Nursery and Reception classes will be accommodated in this building, and as the children progress through their education, their designated classroom will be further along the site. The journey the building takes through the site will represent the educational journey of the children. The scale of the proposed building will grow, responding to the scale of the urban grain that surrounds the site at that point. The change in scale of the urban grain from Brick Lane to Commercial Rd is considerable and so in responding to this change, the building begins to describe the process of the school where children are taken from their small local communities and nurtured until they are ready to continue their journey into the wider world.
In order for the building to respond to the context this route is dissected and intercepted with open areas that consider existing trees or facades that face onto the site. Courtyards and outdoor play areas are created within these intervals. The courtyard that is created via the opening to the crypt is of major significance. From this Courtyard the most public areas of the school become accessible. The School / Public library is housed in the Crypt, and the Assembly Hall and Sports Hall, which are also used as community facilities, are located to another edge of the court yard. This creates an interesting juncture, where the InfantsSchool and the JuniorSchool are divided by the Assembly hall which acts as the central hub of the school. A landscape at ground floor continues from the courtyard and through the building into the Infants school tying the two areas together.