Raine’s Foundation School was commissioned by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, built by Bouygues UK and designed by Astudio as part of the BSF programme. It was completed in March 2013 following a 36 month design and construction programme and a budget of circa £20million.
The flagship school sensitively blends a bold extension with a grade II listed Victorian building in a conservation area. The proposal required skilful negotiations with the local planning department to ensure that that the new school was both respectful of its heritage surroundings whilst also forward looking in its approach to education provision and provide a sense of civic pride for the wider community. The four storey internal street acts as the main spine of the building’s circulation as well as supplying spaces for independent learning. The new double height glazed entrance separates the existing building from the new building and this juxtaposition showcases the relationship between the old and new brickwork as both respectively form the internal walls of the entrance. A ‘link’ building wraps around the rear of the building to create a new library from an existing courtyard. The development better uses its previously classified ‘brown field’ site, optimising the usage of the footprint providing both an increase in teaching and external space, whilst ensuring that surface run off, biodiversity and carbon embodiment are positively affected.
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