St Bartholomew’s, a £40m new build secondary school with a capacity for 1650 pupils, was originally completed in 2010 with Jonathan Gratton as the lead designer and project architect. Given the success of the original design the school re-approached Jonathan with a brief to extend the school with an additional exam space. With St Bartholomew’s agreement, ArchitectureLIVE further developed the project brief to encompass a new multi-purpose space to provide a dedicated foyer for school and community events, a new study area for the 6th Form and extended changing facilities as well as the increased exam capacity.
Whilst the overriding factor for the design was to make the new extension fit in seamlessly with the existing building, the new facade design was taken one step further by integrating cutting edge Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) technology to optimise daylight, omit excess solar gain and harness the sun’s energy to produce free electricity.
The project was complimented by a new hard landscaped auditorium which provides teared seating for open air performances, using the new foyer space as a stage and back stage area. As required by West Berkshire Borough Council, Planning Department the school is certified BREEAM Very Good.
