Oak Meadow Primary School

Oak Meadow Primary School was one of the 1st three primary schools in the UK to receive Passivhaus certification in February 2012. Designed and built to the rigorous Passivhaus standard the two-form entry primary school - 420 children - also includes facilities for a local ‘Mast Agency Support Team’.

Location

Wolverhampton, UK

Area

2,300 m2

Status

Completed

Year

2011

Client

Wolverhampton City Council

The building, orientated on an East-West axis has been modelled to meet the technical demands associated with Passivhaus, which has influenced every decision about form, design and detailing, whilst ensuring focus has remained on simplifying and optimising the design.

The school has been constructed from a simple and robust palette of materials including; timber cladding, zinc roofing, timber windows and doors externally, timber screens, natural linoleum, organic paints and stains internally. Architype have been providing a series of ‘soft landing’ sessions, easing the occupiers into the building operations and guiding them to achieve optimal use of the building.

The children are more alert in the afternoon and are more attentive because the air is so fresh and comfortable. The daylight is just fantastic. It has raised our spirits, the children and teachers love our passivhaus school.

Sara Morris, Headteacher

Vision

All vision

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Design

The massing of the building responds to surrounding historical agricultural grain, within a wider site boundary echoing the field boundary and ‘green corridor’ context of the previous occupation on the site. The proposed building sits within wider grass playing fields and grass ‘soft-play’ bounded by expanded and extended ‘green corridors’.

The proposed building form echoes the Saxon ‘Longhouse’ with an elongated footprint oriented East-West, with pitched roofs meeting centrally at the West elevation, expressing a central ‘circulation’ axis from which the majority of the accommodation is accessed.

All of the classrooms are oriented North-South (to maximise environmental control) with the majority facing due South. The elevational materiality reflects the educational and adult/service divide, along the East-West axis with a timber and glass clad more ephemeral Southern elevation ‘plugging’ into a solid timber Northern block, whilst maintaining a visual axis of transparency throughout.

Without a doubt, the imagination and commitment that Architype bring to the delivery table is outstanding.