Regent High School (formerly called South Camden Community School) is aco-educational secondary school on a tight urban site in Somers Town in theLondon Borough of Camden. Piecemeal development over the years hadresulted in numerous disparate buildings, many of which were at the end oftheir life. The school suffered from various dark, enclosed, indirect circulationroutes; teaching and learning spaces that were no longer fit for purpose; and alack of good quality external spaces for students. As well as addressing theseissues, the design needed to allow for an uplift of 488 students and 70 staff.
In 2009 Walters & Cohen was approached by Bam Construction, who carriedout the project under a BSF Design and Build contract for London Borough ofCamden. Working closely with Bam, the council and the school, we developeda scheme for demolition, refurbishment and new build over four constructionphases.
The design supports a wide variety of teaching and learning methods to suit theschool's educational vision for up to 1,300 students. Traditional classrooms aregrouped around flexible homebases, encouraging interactive, personal andcollaborative working.
At the heart of the school is the Arcade, a triple height circulation spacelinking new and existing elements of the campus. The Arcade is the mainfocus of the school and provides the new main entrance. 'Flipping' the entrancefrom Charrington Street to Chalton Street is one of the major achievements ofthe design, which effectively reorientates how the school relates to itssurroundings and how staff, students and visitors approach the school.
The school's footprint has been kept to a minimum, with external spacemaximised to accommodate a variety of outdoor teaching and social spaces.The school's specialism of the creative arts is promoted with a state-of-the-arttheatre, which helps regenerate the north end of Chalton Street.
The design follows area guidelines set out in Building Bulletin 98, adheres torequirements set out by the local authority, and complies with all requirementsfor accessibility. The building is much more 'legible' than before, and is easyfor all users to navigate, with lifts, level thresholds, co-located disabled toiletsand generous circulation spaces. All requirements regarding provision forusers with hearing and visual impairments have been met and the theatre hasan induction loop system.
Headteacher Rosemary Leeke has been involved throughout and said: "The entrance and Arcade space are so impressive. But the benefits of thedesign go far beyond the 'wow' factor: the Arcade simplifies movement arounda large school; it is an attractive link between the original and new buildings;and the passive supervision it provides supports our school ethos of studentstaking responsibility for their learning and behaviour."
Timetable: Contract awarded to BAM December 2010 Started on site January 2011 Final completion December 2014
Programme and budget constraints: Phasing the construction period avoided the cost of temporary accommodationand minimised the impact of construction on the day-to-day running of theschool. We worked to the client's budget.
