Architects Datafile (ADF) – June 2019

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WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK ADF JUNE 2019

A derelict former Royal Mail Sorting Office

in Northampton has been renovated and

reopened as a 2220-place academy school

for Northamptonshire County Council and

the East Midlands Academy Trust.

London-based practice Architecture

Initiative undertook the project to turn

what was a largely windowless, utilitarian,

industrial building into an education hub

“filled with natural light and expansive

views; designed to motivate and inspire.”

The 1970s building stood derelict for

11 years and had become a local eyesore,

attracting antisocial behaviour. Architecture

Initiative identified the opportunity to

“ambitiously reimagine the vast brutalist

structure” as a school, while celebrating the

best of its exposed concrete and features

such as its massive open spaces and waffle

slab ceilings.

Northampton International Academy

accommodates 420 primary pupils 1500

secondary pupils, and a 300-place sixth

form. The main mass of the building

structure remains largely unchanged. A

screen of perforated, polished metal wraps

around the building’s brick exterior, and

primary and secondary pupils each have a

dedicated entrance, directly off the new

public plaza.

The internal floor area greatly exceeded

the school space requirement, and this

“allowed a unique opportunity to create

larger and enhanced teaching spaces,”

said the architects. Arranged around the

building’s perimeter, enabled by

steel-framed mezzanine levels inserted in

the 6-m-high spaces, the teaching rooms are

allowed maximum access to natural light

through new window openings punched

through the existing external walls.

Extensive circulation corridors are used

as break-out learning spaces and social

areas. Vertical voids through the existing

waffle-slab structure were added, as well as

roof lights to bring daylight into the heart

of the interior and create open circulation

with visual links between floors.

Part of the undercroft car park and the

south side of the building has been

remodelled as primary school teaching

space with adjacent outdoor play areas. On

the top floor, a four-court sports hall lined

in perforated plywood panelling has been

inserted in a former courtyard, with

translucent polycarbonate panels allowing

diffused natural light.

As much as possible, the existing finish of

the original building has been respected and

reused, with a clear distinction created

between old and new. The existing

waffle-slab structure remains exposed, as

do the new mechanical and electrical

services, and its standardised 0.9m-centred

modular grid is used as a basis to inform

and set out the spatial arrangement of the

entire school. Differentiating the old and

new, white plastered partitions have been

inserted into the concrete shell to divide

teaching rooms from the atria.

Rowan Parnell, director at Architecture

Initiative, said, “Our work shows that

legacy buildings considered ‘beyond the

pale’ can – with an innovative and

ambitious approach to design – be

completely repositioned as useful, thriving

and beautiful assets for the community.”

The full scheme also includes planning

approval for additional education space

located on the building frontage that will

create an active and a welcoming entrance

looking out over the shared public plaza.

Former Northampton Sorting Office

transformed into school

SCHOOL

British Land has announced that Paul

Cocksedge will design the Landmark

Project for Broadgate as part of London

Design Festival 2019.

The large-scale installation, called

‘Please Be Seated,’ fuses innovation

and technology, and is said to be the

most ambitious of British Land’s

commissions to date. “Responding to

the changing rhythm of the community,”

the design feature curves for people

to sit on and walk under, further

enhancing London's largest

pedestrianised neighbourhood.

Made from scaffolding planks,

Paul Cocksedge is collaborating with

Essex-based flooring company,

White&White, to “re-imagine” and re-use

the material.

British Land has been confirmed as

Headline Partner of London Design

Festival for the fourth consecutive year,

which will see the developer “immersing

its Broadgate and Paddington Central

assets in London’s most important design

event once again.”

Paddington Central will also once again

be one of the festival’s Design Routes, and

will include an installation by

Paddington-born designer Adam

Nathaniel Furman, who will “enliven the

Grand Union Canal with his signature

vibrancy and impactful colours.”

‘Please Be Seated’ for London Design Festival

FESTIVAL