St Luke's CofE Primary School
Architect - Architype
Contractor - Thomas Vale
Client - Wolverhampton City Council
Completion - 2009
There are two factors that shake this complacency. One is how much the staff and pupils like the school and feel that it works for them. And the other is that, however straightforward and sensible the design may feel, this is the first primary school in England to score BREEAM Excellent. Not so run of the mill, then.
The quietness, the internal logic to the design, and the lack of green add-ons all reflect a fundamental part of Architype’s approach. It describes it as ‘eco-minimalism’, as ‘getting the basic priorities right’, and it has certainly done this at St Luke’s.
The school is in a New Deal Regeneration Area, on a site that Jonathan Hines of Architype describes as ‘quite odd shaped’. The easiest way to orientate the building would have been with the long sides facing east west, but this is the most problematic with regard to sunshading. So Architype turned it with the long faces pointing to north and south. So much for the idea that every move was self-evident.
The school is on two levels, an approach that is often rejected for schools as being too costly, particularly as it is necessary to provide a lift for disabled access. Here, having a second floor was a necessity, because of the relatively small footprint of the site. And in fact the client wanted it, because It gives, explained Hines, a sense of progression for the Year 5 students to move to the upper floor.
The structure is of glulam and I-beams and the building is clad in Douglas fir – completely untreated, in keeping with Architype’s determination to use as many natural finishes as possible. Douglas fir is more durable than other softwoods, explained Hines, and it weathers to an even, silvery grey colour, in contrast to cedar and oak which, in his experience, often stain unevenly.
Architype is experienced in the use of timber, and so can avoid problems that others may encounter. ‘Because we detail in a very simple way,’ Hines explains, ‘our timbers can move independently. They can breathe and dry out.’ This is crucial – timber will expand and contract with wetting and drying, which can cause problems if it is not detailed correctly. It does not matter if it gets wet, but if it is not to rot it is essential that it doesn’t remain wet – again, a matter of detailing to avoid any trapped or standing moisture.
