Sheppard Robson to design £20m Hale Barns college
ARCHITECTURE firm Sheppard Robson has won a contract to design the £20m St Ambrose Voluntary Aided College in Hale Barns, with Balfour Beatty.
Sheppard Robson said it has designed the school to reflect its Catholic ethos, with the space at the centre of the building representing the heart of the community and educational areas circling the central space.
The central area is a multi functioning space that includes the chapel, dining, social and assembly areas. Cantilevering platforms on the upper levels support staff areas, library and ICT areas.
Tony O’Brien, design director at Sheppard Robson, said: “Our primary considerations when designing St Ambrose were to provide a high performance school with cutting edge teaching facilities, and to ensure that the building reflects the schools catholic faith, expressing a strong sense of community.”
“St Ambrose is comprised of four houses, with each student allocated a house for the duration of their time at the school, reinforcing this sense of community not just in the physical appearance of the school, but also in the way it operates.”
The building, which is being funded by the government’s National Academies Framework Part 1, is expected to be submitted for planning permission in May 2010, with completion in 2011.
