BFLNov.08 18/11/08 4:57 pm Page 7
news
Teachers want more input in
New public
£7 billion schools programme
realm plans
DESIGNERS must be able to engage with teachers and others working and studying in schools in
for Park
order to make sure new buildings suit the needs of the whole school community.
This is the message to architects and planners from the Teacher Support Network, following the
Royal
Department of Children, Schools and Families’
(1)
announcement that hundreds of primary schools are
PROPOSALS have been made
to be rebuilt as part of the £7 billion Primary Capital Programme.
to revitalise Park Royal, thought
Research undertaken by the charity
(2)
showed that while 87% of respondents believed that school
to be Europe’s largest industrial
environments influence pupil behaviour, only 12% thought that their school premises offered an
estate, in a new public realm
effective learning environment.
strategy put forward by the
At a meeting of key stakeholders staged in the summer, fears were raised that the success of the
design practice 5th Studio.
building programme could be jeopardised by a lack of interaction between architects and teachers.
Located half way between
The resulting report, entitled ‘Just another brick in the wall? How schools could benefit from better
Heathrow and Central London,
building investment’
(3)
, proposed that a named individual in each building process should be
Park Royal provides important
responsible for ensuring teachers are fully engaged and supported from beginning to end.
transport links in and out of the
(1) www.dcsf.gov.uk (2) 2007, in association with the British Council for School Environments (3) www.teachersupport.info
city for the 2,000 companies
based on the estate. This has
resulted in high levels of
congestion on roads and a low
quality public realm.
Commissioned by Park Royal
Partnership and Design for
London, and developed in
consultation with three London
Boroughs (Brent, Ealing and
Hammersmith & Fulham), the
strategy looks at ways to
achieve a radical change in the
quality of the area.
Distinctiveness
Among the key design features
are the introduction of cycle
lanes within the network of
principal road corridors, large-
scale signage to orientate
people entering Park Royal at
its gateways, and interventions
that strengthen the local
distinctiveness of its district.
One of the main aims is to
encourage a shift away from the
use of private cars by making the
area easier and less threatening
to navigate on foot or by bike.
5th Studio director Nathan
Jones told bfl:“The project
demanded a strategy of
targeted intervention – how to
£5m facelift for
improve the quality of a huge
piece of city without changing
everything. We were struck by
Bradford University
the way Park Royal exists both
as a ‘whole’, surrounded by
strategic transport infrastructure,
UNIVERSITY of Bradford is working with architects Saunders Boston and main contractor and as a diverse series of ‘parts’
Lotus Construction on the £5m redevelopment of its leisure and sports facilities. within that boundary. Our
A new glass entrance atrium ‘the cone’ (pictured above) will provide a much needed new proposals constitute a tool-kit
shop window for the centre – particularly to the local community – whilst housing a new free- of tactics which can work
form rock-faced climbing wall. across these scales; from re-
Upon completion in the spring, the centre will also incorporate a new fitness suite & exercise working major road corridors to
studio, a four badminton court sports hall, a 25m five-lane swimming pool with spectator bottom-up projects which
viewing and multi-purpose spaces with a range of meeting and club rooms. strengthen its sense of place.”
November 2008 building forleisure 7
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