Introduction
An Edwardian Grade II listed primary school in Northampton. Works consist of a new reception building that will link the nursery to the primary school and an extension to the existing DSP unit as well as a large amount of remodelling and refurbishment. Also includes the conversion of an existing swimming pool within the listed curtilage into a children’s centre.
Description
Kingsthorpe Grove Primary School involved the extension, refurbishment and upgrade of an Edwardian Grade II listed building and its external areas. The listed status presented an additional challenge to the delivery of the project, but ultimately we were able to deliver a building that combined a respect for the historical context of the existing building with the innovative design and specialist techniques necessary to exceed the requirements for a modern school facility. The development of Kingsthorpe Grove Primary School was driven by Northamptonshire County Council’s (NCC’s) re-organisation of schools across Northampton from a 3 tier system to 2 tier system. In the case of Kingsthorpe Grove, this meant the development from a 2 form entry lower school into 470 place 2 form entry primary school, including a nursery for children aged 3-4, plus an expansion to the existing Designated Special Provision (DSP) for pupils with Autism Spectrum Disorder to cover the whole primary age range. In addition to the expansion was the requirement to upgrade the condition of the existing Grade II listed buildings in order to meet the needs of a 21st century education establishment. Originally Kingsthorpe Grove was to be included in the NCC Programme that involved a building, refurbishment and facilities management programme involving 41 schools across the county. It became obvious early on that the unique character of the school would result in a protracted consultation and planning period, involving English Heritage and the NBC Conservation Team. A decision was therefore made to develop the school independently following a more traditional model. The existing school suffered accommodation shortfalls and problems even when compared against minimum School Premises Regulations (1999). In addition to this the school also suffered from a large backlog of strategic maintenance works that was to be included in the budget to cover remedial and repair work to the existing building fabric. The brief consisted of 4 key elements: 1 Conversion of the existing swimming pool building into a new Children’s centre.
2 Relocation of the main entrance away from a busy road. This required a new extension providing a main entrance, admin facilities and a link between the foundation block and main school.
3 Extension to the existing Designated Special Provision (DSP) unit.
4 Remodelling, refurbishment and repair of the existing school and external areas.
There was a considerable consultation period. Public consultations were held at an early stage in the design process. Regular meetings were held during the process, including sites inspections with NCC Education, NCC Planning, the Northampton Borough Council (NBC) Conservation Officer and with English Heritage. The designs went through significant changes and development as a result of this consultation. The Building Regulations required an improvement of the energy performance of the existing building. More than 10% of the value of the principal works was used to improve the energy efficiency of the existing building. This included upgrading the glazing, improving the U Values of this building fabric, new lighting and new high efficiency radiators. All new extensions were designed using natural day lighting and ventilation strategies in order to keep additional carbon emissions to a minimum. There were a number of health and safety issues associated with the project, mainly as the school was to be kept operational during the construction work. The main issues were phasing and ensuring protection to the building users during the work. A phasing plan and a pre-construction health and safety plan were both produced to ensure good management of these hazards. The project was completed in August 2010 and was brought in on budget, which was a real achievement, given its complex nature. The completed building has been well received and is well used by the community. The new Children’s Centre, converted from a disused out-building is particularly successful and is operating at full capacity. The re-orientation of main entrance of the primary school away from the busy Kingsthorpe Grove road has significantly increased the safety of children arriving and leaving the school and provides a new welcoming, and uplifting entrance space. The DSP facility has been provided with its own vehicle access and drop-off and this allows this enlarged facility to operate smoothly without interrupting the functioning of the main primary school. Community representatives were successfully engaged in the briefing, design and construction process from project start to completion. The school has received written compliments from the local community and there were very few community complaints during the construction process. Collaborative working relationships were maintained throughout the process between all parties, and the various members of the team are working together on further projects. We believe that the design of Kingsthorpe Grove beautifully marries the need for modern high standards and energy efficiency with the responsibility to preserve the heritage Listed Buildings have to offer. It is an excellent example of a building which was upgraded to modern standards and achieved high client satisfaction, despite the challenges often associated with work on listed buildings.
