Design and Access Statement - Northamptonshire

Kettering Science Academy

Design and Access StatementMay 2010

2Kettering Science Academy - Design and Access Statement May 2010

Contents

1.00 Design1.01 Introduction and background to the project1.02 Consultation1.03 The site1.04 Key Design Principles1.05 Design Proposals1.06 Scale, form and disposition1.07 Internal arrangement1.08 Appearance1.09 Environmental sustainability and energy issues1.10 Landscape1.12 Art1.13 Security

2.00 Access2.01 Introduction and approach2.02 Pedestrian and cycle access2.03 Vehicle access and parking2.04 Building entrances and reception2.05 Internal circulation2.06 Fixtures and finishes2.07 Toilets and changing facilities2.08 Community facilities2.09 Information / signage

612-DAS-00 May 2010

Design Team

ArchitectsNicholas Hare Architects3 Barnsbury Square, London, N1 1JL

Main contractorWillmott Dixon ConstructionChantry House, High Street, Coleshill, Birmingham, B46 3BP

Structural engineersCox Turner MorseSuite 211, Fort Dunlop, Fort Parkway, Birmingham, B24 9FD

Mechanical and electrical engineersWSPWSP UK Buildings, 1 Queens Drive, Birmingham, B5 4PJ

Landscape architectsAedas Urban Design and Landscape21 St Mary's Street, Shrewsbury, SY1 1ED

Art consultantsImpact ArtWalstead Chapel, East Mascalls Lane, Lindfield, West Sussex, RH16 2QJ

Furniture consultantsIsis Concepts57 High Street, Tetsworth, Oxfordshire, OX9 7BS

Acoustic consultantsSound Research LaboratoriesHolbrook House, Little Waldingfield, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 0TH


1.00 Design

The proposed building for Kettering Science Academy is a result of the competitive bidding process run by Northamptonshire County Council under the Partnership for Schools National Framework. It forms the sample school in a batched scheme of three projects, which will subsequently include work to two further Academies.

The sponsor for this Academy are Brooke Weston, who operate two other successful Academies in the local area: the Brooke Weston Academy and the Corby Business Academy. They began managing the Kettering Science Academy in September 2009.

Following the competition process and the subsequent ITT bid submission in February 2010, Willmott Dixon Construction have been selected as preferred bidder and are now developing their

1.01 Introduction and background to the project

Aerial photo of the site

proposals. The new Kettering Science Academy building is due to open in September 2012.

The new building for the secondary phase of the Academy will replace an existing building on the same site (formerly the Ise Community College). The existing primary school building (the Henry Gotch Primary and Junior schools) will be retained. The new secondary phase will accommodate 1100 students from Years 7 to 11, with a further 250 sixth form students.

This statement should be read in conjunction with the planning statement prepared by Christopher Timothy of CT Planning and the supporting documentation that accompanies the application.

1.02 Consultation

The prelude to the competition stage of this project was the preparation of an Outline Business Case by Northamptonshire County Council and their technical advisors. This described the key aspects of the brief and the aspirations of the sponsor with regard to the design. A series of Design Quality Indicators (DQI’s) were also identified, further clarifying the key priorities of the school.

As part of the preparation of the Outline Business Case, and based on the control scheme designed by John Lyall Architects, discussions were held between the project team and Northamp-tonshire County Council to identify possible planning issues for an application of this type. The drawings accompanying the OBC were subsequently submitted to the Planning Authority for their consideration. No overriding concerns were identified and a letter of comfort was obtained.

A series of clarification meetings was held at fortnightly intervals throughout the pre-ITT stage to develop design and technical proposals with the sponsors, the council and their technical advi-sors.

The Willmott Dixon design team has met with the planning department of Northamptonshire County Council on 9th January 2009 and 19th April 2010 to discuss the planning and highways implications of the proposed scheme. The developing proposals were also assessed by the East Midlands Design Review Panel on 13th January 2010. Discussions with Sport England have resulted in a letter of comfort.

During the early development of the design the scope for consulta-tion with the wider community was limited by the confidential nature of the bidding process. However a public consultation evening was held on 5th May 2010.

The team has also liased with Richard Cymler, Building Control Officer of Birmingham Building Control to ensure the proposals are developing in line with Building Regulations.


The existing secondary school building

1.03 The site

Kettering Science Academy occupies a large site to the south-east of the town centre, with residential areas to the north, west and east and open ground to the east. The underlying characteristic of the site is the slope down from Windmill Avenue in the west to the Ise Brook in the east. This has been adjusted to form four plateaux to suit the existing buildings and playing fields. The site offers a wonderful setting for the new building: very green, and overlooking the Ise valley.

The main views into the site are available from the junction of Deeble Road and Windmill Avenue. These views are filtered by existing vegetation. Secondary views can be obtained from the east where Deeble Road crosses the Ise Brook at a lower level. Gener-ally a combination of existing topography and vegetation screens views from other points outside and within the site. Views to and from low lying bungalows close to the southern side of the site are an important consideration.

The existing primary school faces Windmill Avenue at the western side of the site. This consists of two parallel buildings – originally infants and juniors – recently linked to form an open east-facing courtyard, currently partly occupied by car parking. The next plateau down the slope is occupied by the existing secondary school, leaving the remaining two for playing fields. The lowest plateau is subject to flooding and therefore not suitable for building on. These factors clearly point to the third plateau down as the most suitable setting for a new building, allowing a strong relation-ship to be formed with the primary school, while still permitting the new building to be occupied before the old one is demolished.

The site is bisected by Deeble Road which separates the northern playing fields from the school buildings on the south. The northern site has two main levels, separated by an old hedge line. To exploit its potential for pitches, drainage needs to be improved and a safe pedestrian crossing introduced.

Currently there is vehicle access from Deeble Road onto the main site between the primary and secondary schools which is the access for visitors and staff to the primary school. In addition, there is access from the south-east via Cheyne Walk, with a site road running along its southern boundary, beside the gardens of houses facing Greenbank Avenue, which is the access for staff to the secondary school. As this brings large numbers of vehicles through the quiet streets of a residential area it is suggested that vehicular access from this side of the site should be limited as far as possible in the new proposals.

View of the lower two plateaux from the east edge of the siteThe existing primary school building


The sponsor’s educational priorities are clearly set out in the Key Design Principles of the brief and have been steadily reinforced throughout the engagement process to date. Our underlying intention has been to respond accurately and imaginatively to these priorities in the context of the particular site in Kettering. This has led to a relatively consistent development of our design proposals, which we hope represent a further stage in the development of the set of ideas embodied in the Brooke Weston Academy and the Corby Business Academy.

The principal design drivers have been:

Achieving a unifying sense of identity.• The challenge is not only to achieve a sense of unity within the

secondary part of the Academy. It is also to convey the clear sense that the primary and secondary parts are unified on the site and parts of the same educational whole. Given that they inevitably constitute separate poles within the site, it becomes vital that the site layout is conceived to intensify the links between them.

The idea that ‘every person matters’.• The theme of equality and respect for the individual is comple-

mented in the brief by the requirement for ‘a positive environ-ment that requires the minimum of overt disciplinary strategies’. The expectation of good behaviour is fostered by a civilised environment with absorbent acoustics, while passive supervision is enhanced by transparency and the absence of hidden corners.

Achieving maximum transparency.• We have tried to achieve maximum visual transparency be-

tween all of the hierarchy of spaces within the school. These visual relationships will both strengthen the sense of belonging to a single entity and make possible passive supervision from various directions.

Producing optimal environmental conditions with the minimum consumption of energy.• The layout of the building, its dimensions and its fabric have all

been carefully considered in order to provide the best possible environment for learning, while consuming a minimum amount of energy for lighting, heating (or cooling) and ventilation. The last step, in order to reduce the carbon footprint of the building, is to provide efficient on-site methods of deriving or generating the energy that is required.

Celebrating the Science specialism of the Academy.• Our intention in this respect is to raise awareness through the

day-to-day use of the building. In this regard, it is not about isolated points of specialism. The strategy is to encourage inquiry and learning through installations, sculptures and on-going student work.

In summary, our design aims to create a building that students and the local community can be proud of and enjoy using, that raises aspirations, that facilitates learning and teaching, and that promotes positive behaviour and encourages social interaction.

1.04 Key Design Principles

The setting for the new building


Diagram showing proposed site strategy

1.05 Design Proposals

Site layout

The challenge in creating a unifying identity for the Academy is not only to achieve a sense of unity within the secondary part. It is also to convey the clear sense that the primary and secondary parts are unified on the site and parts of the same educational whole. Given that they inevitably constitute separate poles within the site, it becomes vital that the site layout is conceived to intensify the links between them.

We therefore propose a direct link between the primary courtyard and the secondary entrance in the form of the ‘Science Avenue’. On either side of it are placed the MUGAs and the car park, both of which serve both parts of the Academy. This device provides a clear separation between pedestrian and vehicular areas, with cars arriving at the site from Deeble Road to the north and contained within a carpark on this side of the avenue. Access from the south of the site is then limited to service vehicles and deliveries.

central courtyard

restaurant

librarycommunications

faculty

ethics,humanities andbusiness faculty

art, musicand

industrialdesignfaculty

mathsand ITfaculty

sciencefaculty

sports hall

dramastudio

lecturetheatre

theatre garden

artgarden

sciencegarden

Ground floor plan

Documents

Design and Access Statement - Northamptonshire