| Park Lane Primary School, Wembley |
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When London's Brent Council undertook the provision of a new Nursery for Park Lane Primary School, Wembley, their brief emphasised environmental considerations. This reflected the ethos of the school, which is committed to ecologically sound policies. Headmaster, Martin Francis says 'We wanted an environmentally friendly, child centred nursery.' Location: Design Team: Contractors: ACS Door and window suppliers: Forward Ever, Backward - Never! Given this background the project used materials from sustainable sources wherever possible. The architects, Owen Williams Consultants, responded by designing the main structural elements of the building using timber and specified timber windows and doors throughout. Matthew Robinson, Project Architect, emphasises 'The aim was to create a sustainable building and to make it look as natural as possible' The location - a sloping site - and the sustainable nature of the brief, drove much of the design. The architects created a single storey, rectangular building which maximises the availability of natural light by the extensive use of glazed walling. They also incorporated an intelligent lighting system which self manages the light within the building. A glulam post and beam construction enabled the economical creation of a clear span building with a slightly curved roof, with a radius of some 40m, resulting in a flexible, open space ideal for varied nursery education use. Two walls are brickwork, broken by windows in 'primary shapes' - a triangle, a circle and a rectangle - and two walls, (the east and south walls), are entirely glazed. Three roof lights echo the primary window shapes, also being a triangle, a circle and a rectangle. Hard landscaping has been strictly limited, with the glazed doors opening onto timber decking, with grass steps to the lower levels. Mark Doyle, Commercial Manager of contractors ACS comments on the landscaping. He says 'Despite the tight programme on this project we took great care to ensure that as much as possible of the material excavated on site was recycled. We incorporated most of it into the landscaping, building banking and such features as the grass steps.' While the curved roof profile, which interfaces with full height glazing at either end, is undoubtedly aesthetically pleasing, it presented something of a challenge for the window suppliers, Broxwood, as it required the glazed timber sections to have a radius equal to that of the roof. The glazed panels were completely prefinished and factory glazed with a low-e argon filled unit with a u value of 1.1, contributing to the environmental benefits of the development. By using prefinished units build time was speeded up and the risk of site damage during construction was greatly reduced. Further environmental benefits accrued from the use of windows and door frames made from laminated Siberian larch. As this is a particularly dense wood, it requires no preservative treatment, which softwood alternatives e.g. red pine might do. This environmentally friendly building is topped off by the ultimate in natural roofing – a sedum roof. Supplied as a package by German firm Erisco Bauder, such roofs are not uncommon on the Continent, but are more unusual in the UK. Basically a sedum based turf, this provides a good, sustainable alternative roof finish, which once established, requires only occasional watering and feeding. Architect Matthew Robinson describes it as 'like a thick, green, shag pile carpet'. The overall effect is pleasing, particularly in late summer when it flowers. It is fitting that this forward-looking building should be dedicated to one of the parents who was instrumental in its instigation, a lady called Loraine Matthew-Williams. A plaque at the entrance, supplied by the contractors, records her very fitting catchphrase 'Forward ever backward never !' |