Mace Group

Information

Widford School is located in a 19th century school house and building, both of which are grade II listed. Attached to this building but at a lower level is an infant classroom extension built during the 1970s. This infant extension also houses limited administrative facilities including a head teacher's office, a secretary's office and a staff room.

A need for additional space - both for teaching and administration - resulted in a proposal to erect a stand-alone classroom of approximately 60m2 at the rear of the existing 70s extension. This enabled the replacement of the existing mobile classroom, as the existing mobile was obstructing the view to the listed gothic style school house building. The removal of the temporary classroom opened up this elevation and therefore greatly improved the visual impact. The new structure was deliberately set back from the main listed building to emphasise the old school house.

The new classroom extension allowed a more contemporary design without affecting the listed building; the lines of the structure are clean and crisp. The design and materials were carefully considered with advice from English Heritage. The finishes reflect and compliment the colours of the existing buildings and are sustainable products. A low maintenance solution
was an important factor for the school, hence timber cladding was chosen as it is virtually maintenance free due to its natural durability. As the main elevations are north and west facing solar gain is be controlled through blinds.

Links

Client: Widford School
www.widford.herts.sch.uk/

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