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What conversations did you have with the staff
and students?
Preparation extended for a number of years before we
had the funds to develop the school. The conversations
were not only with the teachers and the students, but
the parish. This is a parish project. It’s greater than just
the school. It entwines all of those aspects and involved
parents as well.
The conversations were around what this school meant to
the parish. We had to provide some tangible links to what
that was and it was around the idea of the village that
raises a child. That grew into a tree and a seedling that
you nurtured and that becomes a tree.
There’s some really lovely playful elements within the
building that are sophisticated. They cater for the child,
but they’re not child-like. They’re quite lovely. So we’ve
got tree houses that you can learn in. There’s a tree
structure in the building. There are some other aspects,
obviously it’s a Catholic school, so we had to make some
tangible links to the Christian faith and did so through
the use of coloured glass. We took some cues from
Corbusier’s Ronchamp with the beautiful natural play of
light within the internal spaces. The coloured glazing
links back to the stained glass of the chapel.
Any other design drivers?
We identified the school’s needs to deliver spaces that
told a story. It’s not just a space for learning, it’s a story
about the school, the building, the way the building
works and an example of a tree-house. Seated within a
tree that envelops the double-story volume. There are
little, nest-like, spaces for quiet reading and another area
to perch, break out and enjoy collaborative learning with
small groups of students.