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Wolverhampton Girls' High School - 6th Form Centre
Wolverhampton Girls' High School - 6th Form Centre
Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
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Other Projects by Seymour Harris Architecture
Wolverhampton Girls' High School - 6th Form Centre
Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2019
SIZE
10,000 sqft - 25,000 sqft
BUDGET
$1M - 5M
The new Sixth Form Centre is a playful, considered and sculptural addition to the architectural vocabulary of the site, using modern, robust materials whilst respecting the beautiful mature landscape setting and the original school building. The building addresses this context with internal spaces having visual connection to the tree lined playing fields, whilst reflecting the landscape and historic school building with the use of reflective black glass cladding. Patterned brickwork to the northwest takes its cues from detailing on the 1911 building with further references made through imperial sized brick perforations in the aluminium solar shading/ cladding. Extensive research was undertaken in sourcing and selecting the translucent powder-coating for the aluminium cladding and shading element to ensure a compatible colour to the original building. The metal cladding wraps the building as a continuous ribbon and is deployed as a rainscreen cladding, a solar shading device and a covered link to the main building and external dining area. It also wraps and conceals the roofs of the 1960’s dining/kitchen block with a single window positioned within the cantilevered group room, framing an elevated view of the historic façade.
Client’s Brief
Working closely with the school, SHA led on successful funding bids and subsequent project delivery for the school expansion. The two-storey new-build element of the project provides additional classrooms, flexible sixth form spaces and support accommodation including seminar spaces, group rooms, staff offices and toilets, with remodelled Science, Art, ICT, Student-support, Fitness and Staff spaces, expanded dining and outdoor dining. Through a detailed school accommodation analysis best adjacencies and subject groupings were achieved, informing both new-build and refurbishment accommodation whilst delivering the most cost-effective solution.
Planning Constraints
The original historic 1911 school building sits within a mature landscape and greenbelt setting, and through early Pre-app discussions with the Head of Planning the LPA worked closely with the team to agree siting, massing, form and aesthetic of the proposals within this sensitive context. As the site for the development was constrained part demolition of the existing kitchen building was required to enable site access.
Programme and budget constraints
Grant funding for expansion limited the cost/sqm although Client and Planning demand for a high-quality addition to the site necessitated rigorous spending decisions, precise detailing and careful specification and contract administration. Interiors use simple materials to best effect, targeting product to maximise benefit to cost ratio.
Contribution to society
The expansion of WGHS is strategic in delivering the Council’s and the School’s strategy of targeting disadvantaged pupils and widening school admissions, with a key focus upon Wolverhampton residents.
Sustainability
A key client requirement was to have a building, which was simple to use for all users – staff and pupils alike, and to have systems which were easily maintained and as low tech as possible. As the building is an extension to the existing building one approach was to improve the performance of the existing 1960’s buildings which the new building wraps around and to provide a high-performance envelope to the new building.
A ‘fabric-first’ approach has been taken, with a high-performance building envelope, natural ventilation, utilising the stack-effect through use of the atrium space and rooflights and acoustically attenuated ventilation baffles concealed in perforated bulkheads at the back of the teaching spaces. Habitable spaces have exposed concrete soffits to both ground and first floors to provide a level of temperature stability throughout the year with the ability to purge the spaces during peak summer conditions with secure high level opening windows within these spaces.
Windows are manually opening to provide user comfort control at source and to minimise maintenance and avoid the nuisance and disturbance from the noise of window actuators. The rooflights are however controlled automatically by the BMS to extract stale air and draw in air through the open windows. Extensive use of natural light throughout the building minimises the need for electric lighting for much of the opening hours of the building. When required electric lighting is LED, dimmable and automated with the use of movement sensors to ensure lights are only used where they are needed.
Construction detailing has been carefully considered to produce a thermal-bridge-free design, wrapping any penetrations with high performance insulation blankets.
Client’s Brief
Working closely with the school, SHA led on successful funding bids and subsequent project delivery for the school expansion. The two-storey new-build element of the project provides additional classrooms, flexible sixth form spaces and support accommodation including seminar spaces, group rooms, staff offices and toilets, with remodelled Science, Art, ICT, Student-support, Fitness and Staff spaces, expanded dining and outdoor dining. Through a detailed school accommodation analysis best adjacencies and subject groupings were achieved, informing both new-build and refurbishment accommodation whilst delivering the most cost-effective solution.
Planning Constraints
The original historic 1911 school building sits within a mature landscape and greenbelt setting, and through early Pre-app discussions with the Head of Planning the LPA worked closely with the team to agree siting, massing, form and aesthetic of the proposals within this sensitive context. As the site for the development was constrained part demolition of the existing kitchen building was required to enable site access.
Programme and budget constraints
Grant funding for expansion limited the cost/sqm although Client and Planning demand for a high-quality addition to the site necessitated rigorous spending decisions, precise detailing and careful specification and contract administration. Interiors use simple materials to best effect, targeting product to maximise benefit to cost ratio.
Contribution to society
The expansion of WGHS is strategic in delivering the Council’s and the School’s strategy of targeting disadvantaged pupils and widening school admissions, with a key focus upon Wolverhampton residents.
Sustainability
A key client requirement was to have a building, which was simple to use for all users – staff and pupils alike, and to have systems which were easily maintained and as low tech as possible. As the building is an extension to the existing building one approach was to improve the performance of the existing 1960’s buildings which the new building wraps around and to provide a high-performance envelope to the new building.
A ‘fabric-first’ approach has been taken, with a high-performance building envelope, natural ventilation, utilising the stack-effect through use of the atrium space and rooflights and acoustically attenuated ventilation baffles concealed in perforated bulkheads at the back of the teaching spaces. Habitable spaces have exposed concrete soffits to both ground and first floors to provide a level of temperature stability throughout the year with the ability to purge the spaces during peak summer conditions with secure high level opening windows within these spaces.
Windows are manually opening to provide user comfort control at source and to minimise maintenance and avoid the nuisance and disturbance from the noise of window actuators. The rooflights are however controlled automatically by the BMS to extract stale air and draw in air through the open windows. Extensive use of natural light throughout the building minimises the need for electric lighting for much of the opening hours of the building. When required electric lighting is LED, dimmable and automated with the use of movement sensors to ensure lights are only used where they are needed.
Construction detailing has been carefully considered to produce a thermal-bridge-free design, wrapping any penetrations with high performance insulation blankets.
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