Project Outline

Cwm Ifor Primary school has been designed by Architype in partnership with Caerphilly County Borough Council (CCBC) Building Consultancy as part of the 21st Century Schools Programme. Architype led the design of this new build 1.5 form entry primary school to RIBA stage D, including in-depth client and user consultation, CCBC Building Consultancy then led from Stage E.

The flexible plan of Cwm Ifor Primary School provides a very much learner-oriented design, with a greater emphasis on informal learning areas and the elimination of traditional corridor spaces.

Located in a socially deprived area of Caerphilly, the new school facilities have been strategically located on the school grounds to encourage people from all around to take pride in the facilities and increase attendance at the school.

The brief placed emphasis on the need for the design to embrace the school’s culture and ethos of community and support. The timber frame solution incorporates a large open plan dining/café/performance social space at the heart of the building which opens up to the adjacent hall, increasing its capacity for school performances and activities. Arranged off this the central space are four wings accommodating the foundation stage, infant, junior and staff administration facilities.

Sustainable Design

Architype’s eco-minimalist approach rejects the need for complexity and largely focuses on careful analysis to develop effective solutions that significantly reduce energy consumption through robust, simple design and detailing.

In partnership with Caerphilly County Borough Council Building Consultancy, we have applied our simple design principles that enable the architecture to do the hard work in saving energy and reducing its environmental impact. The building shape, form, section and orientation are designed to achieve useful solar gain and to control solar overheating. High performance triple glazed windows and elimination of thermal bridges through excellent detailing have helped to achieve a low airtightness value.

The entire school is naturally ventilated, with minimal extraction in the kitchen and toilets. Careful M&E design reduces system energy losses and water consumption. Lighting levels are achieved by exceptional levels of natural daylight and when required, low energy efficient lighting.

A simple palette of sustainable, low-embodied energy materials has been specified which includes a timber structure, cladding and joinery and recycled newspaper insulation. The finishes use non-polluting manufacturing processes and include non-toxic organic paints and stains made from natural oils, resins and pigments. Floor coverings are from a choice of cork, recycled tyre matting or linoleum flooring made from linseed oil and jute.

Where appropriate the selection of materials has been considerate of their social impact e.g fairly traded. Local materials have been given precedence such as Welsh timber, Welsh Warmcell insulation and local sandstone paving.

The roof, with differing levels, houses a green sedum cover to increase and maintain bio-diversity in the area. It also holds as a strip of solar panels for renewable energy generation.

The scheme achieves BREEAM 'Excellent' through a robust palette of natural materials, off-site timber closed-panel construction, meadow grass green roofs, untreated UK timber cladding, high levels of insulation, natural lighting and ventilation and on-site renewable energy generation with an innovative roof membrane integrated PV system.

Inclusive Design

Architype undertook a comprehensive consultation process over several months at key stages of the initial design development. In particular we aimed to engender a genuine sense of ownership by involving the whole school community in the design, its progression and the overall educational agenda. The consultation process setup an opportunity to define a clear pedagogical vision to inform the design and reflect the ethos of the school in the design. This process involved the whole school community – pupils, teaching staff, support staff, caretaker, lollipop men, governors and the head teacher.

The outcome of this process led to corridors being eliminated with their space allocation combined into shared spaces allowing for more interaction between children. Accessed via a bridge across an opened up stream, the entrance is clearly visible, overseen by the admin office and provides a direct connection into the central dining space, conceived as the shared ‘heart’ space to offer the children, many from deprived homes, a caring and warm ‘family’ environment.

The entire building takes a single storey form, with wide entrance doors and moveable walls, offering flexibility and ease of movement for all. Bright contrasting colours animate the internal spaces, with high-level clerestory windows allowing natural light into the heart of the building.