World Classrooms, Richmond

London, UK

As part of the Department for Education sponsored programme ‘World Classrooms’, the aim of this project was generating a new prototype classroom that could be integrated to any existing school complex, focusing on and encouraging new ways of learning and teaching children of all different ages, based on the principle that
education should be both informative and fun.

A primary and a secondary school in the Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames were selected for the project and the architectural and structural concept proposed a modular system.

Each ‘pod’ consisted of a fixed number of prefabricated GRP components transported to site within a day and erected locally within the academic summer recess period.

Through the use of skylights, as opposed to the conventional use of windows, the availability and uniform distribution of daylight was maximised throughout the teaching space and thus created an ‘envelope’ of teaching space with walls for projection, exhibition and even seating use.

The use of suspended circular acoustic discs, integrated with the high level natural ventilation openings, ensure that the appropriate acoustic environment was achieved.