Auldhouse PS Design Statement

AULDHOUSE PRIMARY SCHOOL
Design Statement
Auldhouse Primary School
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Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Introduction
Site
Context
Planning
Programme
Design Proposals
Auldhouse Primary School
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1. Introduction
In 2002 South Lanarkshire Council embarked on a
School Modernisation Programme aimed at
rebuilding or refurbishing all of its Primary and
Secondary School estate. Under this programme, a
total of 124 Primary Schools were reviewed by the
Education Client Team. Auldhouse Primary School
was identified as needing a major revamp to meet
the New Primary Schools’ Design and Building
Performance. Currently an old 2 classroom school, it
is proposed to be rebuilt in 2012-2013.
The Client issued the initial brief early 2011 asking
the design team to look at options to allow a new
school to be rebuilt on the existing school site whilst
retaining the existing sandstone building.
The Consultants undertaking the delivery of the new
school are:
Design Services (Architecture & Quantity Survey),
Housing & Technical Resources, South Lanarkshire
Council.
Auldhouse Primary School
2. Site
Auldhouse is located to the south of East Kilbride in
South Lanarkshire, situated approximately 1 mile off
the A726 (near Langlands Golf Course). The existing
school site lies at the centre of the village of
Auldhouse, between Langlands Road and Auldhouse
Road.
A school has occupied the site used for over 100
years, the land having originally being acquired by
the community for Educational use from a local
landowner. It has since passed into SLC ownership
to continue to deliver Educational provision to the
local Community.
The site address is:
Auldhouse Primary School
Auldhouse
East Kilbride
G75 9DT
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Aerial View of Existing Site (outlined in red)
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Location Plan (outlined in red)
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3. Context
Sitting at approximately 214m above sea level,
Auldhouse village lies on the south of the River
Clyde, between East Kilbride and Whitelee Forrest.
The village is extensively surrounded in pastureland,
which continues in all directions to the nearby
settlements.
The school site is accessed directly off Auldhouse
Road and Langlands Road and is bounded by: a
pasture field to the north; rural vernacular buildings to
the west, south and east. Most of the adjacent
buildings have white render and slate roofs.
high point is at the northwest corner which has an
elevation of 212.5m, and falls to the low point of
211.4m at the main gates in the southern end. The
site is surfaced with tarmac.
There is currently no car parking or drop off point for
the school.
The existing site is primarily serviced from the
adjacent roads: the water mains, BT phone lines and
are supplied underground. Electricity is supplied
overhead at the north edge of the existing site by
Scottish Power. The foul and surface water sewers
are connected to a local sewage system close within
the west boundary wall and the site is additionally
served by a septic tank, located nearby.
Built in 1900, the original school is a sandstone
building with slate roof that is partially enveloped by a
later 1960 flat roofed extension of rendered
brickwork.
The existing site is approximately 0.37ha in size and
is bounded by sandstone walls on all sides. Walls
with road frontage are topped with original cast iron
railing. There is a significant fall across the site. The
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Site Analysis
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Aerial View of Area
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4. Planning
The origins of the village began with the Auldhouse
Arms. In the past, drove roads were used to herd
sheep and black cattle from Scotland to England.
One such drove road came through East Kilbride and
made its way to the south. Ale houses like the
Auldhouse Arms were established along these
routes.
With agriculture, the village soon took form.
The most recent development includes social
housing on Langlands Road which was built during
the 1980s.
Auldhouse School, established more than three
hundred years ago, has moved three times before
settling in the current address.
The original part of the present school was built in
1900 by The School Board. It was designed to
accommodate 100 pupils. An extension was later
added in 1960.
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Site Context
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Proposed Design
At present, Auldhouse Primary does not meet the
New Primary Schools’ Design and Building
Performance. To achieve the required standard, the
school was firstly considered for a complete rebuild,
but consultations with the local community revealed
the preference for the retention of the original
sandstone building. The current design solution is
based on this preference for preservation.
Auldhouse Primary School
Existing School: with original iron gates and railings
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5. Programme
6. Design Proposals
The construction of the new school is programmed
as detailed below:
General:
The proposed new floor area will be approx 164msq
more than the current floor area. In addition to this,
the brief has also asked for a MUGA pitch and
parking facilities. An adjourning strip of land on the
north edge of the site was purchased to
accommodate the client’s new requirements.
Education clear building:
End August 2012
Service Disconnections, Enabling
Demolition of Existing Extension:
September 2012 – January 2013
Works
and
Construction of New School and completion of
External Works:
February 2013 – December 2013
The current site access will be kept and used as
pupil access. The proposed main entrance access
will be located near the north edge of the site on
Langlands Road. Two disabled car parking spaces
will be provided within the site and close to the main
entrance. Vehicle and pedestrian movements will be
controlled by the use of fixed and removable bollards
together with metal railings and gates.
The ethos of the new extension design is to make the
original school building the main focal point. So any
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intervention with the external fabric of the sandstone
building will be kept to a minimum.
aluminium external finish and a clear timber finish
internally.
The extension will be of timber frame construction
with the external finish of the walls consisting of a
mixture of traditional and modern materials, ie:
rendered blockwork; architectural concrete masonry;
and timber cladding. To minimise the ridge height, a
low pitch standing seam roof is proposed, keeping
the ridge line below the original sandstone school
building. The rainwater goods and flashings will
match the roof finish.
Extensive use of glazed curtain walling will be made
to maximise the benefits of natural light within the
main teaching / activity spaces within the school.
Windows, doors and curtain walling will be of
composite construction, with a powder coated
Auldhouse Primary School
Form:
The new building will consist of single storey
elements forming a courtyard with the old school
building.
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The design uses the building form as a sheltering
element from the prevailing south west winds,
protecting both the main entrance and the external
learning area (courtyard).
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Entrance:
The school has a secure ‘bubble’ before entering a
large waiting area overlooked by the school office.
This waiting area acts as the main circulation hub of
the school.
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classrooms are to the south and west and, the
smaller staff and support spaces are to the north.
Office/Support:
The head teacher’s office, main store, and staff room
are located beyond the main office.
The activity space is to provide an area for small
group work that uses shared resources such as IT,
library etc. All the classrooms have direct access to
an external teaching area.
Other smaller rooms, such as the cleaning and
janitor’s stores are all located off this main circulation
area.
Teaching:
The teaching area is set around a central activity
‘street’ with all rooms accessed off this. The
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7. Energy/Sustainability
quality internal environment. Lighting will be low
energy/LED throughout.
Throughout the design, an emphasis has been
placed on maximising natural light and ventilation.
In each classroom, there is fenestration on all
external and internal walls. The main circulation
area and the courtyard are divided by glazed
screens. This will provide a good level of natural
light throughout the year. Cross ventilation can be
achieved as all fenestration is openable. Main
spaces such as; classrooms, breakout spaces and
the library are naturally ventilated. The smaller
enclosed spaces will have a mix of opening
windows and extract fans as required. The
dining/gym hall will also have opening lights to
both sides to allow effective cross ventilation when
necessary.
The building fabric will contain at least 10%
recycled content to ensure compliance with the
Scottish Governments target set out in its Zero
Waste/WRAP documents.
The main heat source is anticipated to be
Biomass in line with SLC’s Renewables Strategy.
Detailed thermal and daylight modelling will be
utilised to optimise the design and minimise its
energy demand requirements and achieve a high
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