St Mary’s Infant School by Jessop and Cook Architects
Posted in: Jessop and Cook Architects, schools, slideshowsOffset gabled volumes form a new classroom and play area at this infant school in Oxfordshire, England, by local firm Jessop and Cook Architects (+ slideshow).
Jessop and Cook Architects designed the adjoining buildings with the same profile, but shifted the timber play area sideways from the brick classroom.
“The different materials for the covered external canopy help create a warm friendly feel to the place and help define the spaces,” project architect Dan Wadsworth told Dezeen. “We didn’t want to just tack on a canopy and felt continuing to use brick would be too heavy and overbearing.”
Covered in cedar shingles on the outside and clad with stained planks of the same wood inside, the timber structure provides a sheltered outdoor play area open to the playground. “We created a small enclosed secret garden for the children to play in,” said Wadsworth.
Windows in the roof let in extra light, as well as the gap at the back where the two structures misalign.
Glass doors fold back to merge the play space with the classroom, which is normally entered from a door on the other side of the timber building.
Low wooden partitions house toys and learning materials for the 30 pupils, plus break up the single room to make smaller zones for different activities.
Steps in a back corner sit below a lowered portion of ceiling to create a small performance space. Additional teaching rooms and bathrooms are located at the back of the bulding.
Other primary schools we’ve featured include a modern version of traditional Japanese schoolhouse in Tokyo and one in The Hague that snakes around its site like a crocodile.
Photographs are by Nikhilesh Haval.
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