Redbrook Hayes School, Rugeley
2006
Walters & Cohen, Architects
image from ING 230207
16 May 2007
Architecture practice Walters and Cohen has been awarded a prestigious
Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Award today for its benchmark
design of Redbrook Hayes Primary School in Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
The awards recognize design excellence and built projects which make a
significant contribution to the local environment.
The design for Redbrook Hayes was developed from Walters and Cohen’s designs
for an Exemplar Primary School for the Department for Education and Skills
(DfES). Redbrook Hayes is a one form entry school catering for 223 students;
the new design features outdoor learning spaces for each classroom and
an innovative internal layout that allows interactive learning to take
place outside of the classroom, a very powerful learning tool which is
to be adopted in many new schools in the future. As part of an overall
environmental strategy, Walters and Cohen’s design maximises the use of
passive solar energy, relying on fresh air intake at low level, with opening
windows and roof lights at high level to naturally ventilate the teaching
spaces.
image from ING 230207
Walters and Cohen Director, Michál Cohen, commented, “We are immensely
pleased to have been awarded an RIBA Award for Redbrook Hayes. We recognize
that well-designed schools hugely influence children’s learning and behaviour.
Traditional classrooms will soon become a thing of the past as we move
toward more flexible spaces that can help improve children’s learning;
this spatial arrangement allows students of different ages and abilities
to acquire different skills from one another in a more informal manner.
At Redbrook we built the classroom spaces around a central heart or hub
to avoid the need for corridors, which can be a breeding place for bullying
and add to the overall build costs.
Redbrook Hayes Head Teacher, Mandy Chaganis, said, “It is wonderful that
our school has been acclaimed by the architectural community. The children
are very proud and enthusiastic about their new school. The new building
has quickly become a community hub with various facilities available to
the local people as well as the school children, including a library which
has seen subscriptions soar since it opened. The design encourages parents
to drop off their children and to socialise with other parents. Here is
real evidence that good design can help boost community spirit and transform
their aspirations.”
Walters and Cohen has an enviable track record in designing educational
buildings; including a 2006 RIBA award-winning scheme at Bedales School,
Petersfield. Current projects include Wembley Primary School in London,
which will be the largest primary school in the UK when complete in 2008.
image from ING 230207
Redbrook Hayes Primary School will officially open during the summer,
on 23 July 2007, with events to mark the occasion.
Redbrook Hayes Primary School - Building PR from ING media 070607
Redbrook Hayes School
Walters and Cohen
Founded in 1994 by Cindy Walters and Michál Cohen, Walters and
Cohen has since grown into a dynamic and multicultural practice of talented
individuals from around the world.
Walters and Cohen has actively developed an international portfolio of
public, education, commercial, housing and cultural projects.
Walters and Cohen’s design approach is thorough, demanding and rational.
This is evident in the material quality of the buildings completed by
the practice, which combine intellectual rigor with a sensual appreciation
of space, light and materiality.
Walters and Cohen works closely with clients to establish an appropriate
and achievable brief for every project. The work of the practice is underpinned
by a passionate belief in the importance of design excellence. Detailed
research into innovative building materials has resulted in an impressive
portfolio of bold, contemporary and imaginative projects.
Walters and Cohen received RIBA awards in 2005 for the visitor centre
at Wakehurst Place, West Sussex and in 2006 for new teaching and administration
buildings at Bedales School. Current projects include the Hampstead lido
in London and a primary school in Wembley.
In May 2005 Walters and Cohen became a limited company and currently employs
25 people including architects, architects in training, graphic designers
and administrators.
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Redbrook Hayes
Primary School: Walters and Cohen
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Redbrook Hayes Primary School:
page - adrian welch / isabelle lomholt