With more than 25 years’ experience in the education sector, WSP understands the value of good design in stimulating and encouraging active learning.
NEW DIRECTIONS FOR SCHOOLS AROUND THE WORLD
Caroline Morland, Managing Director and Co-Founder of WSP Edunova and an internationally-experienced educational and management consultant summarises key issues emerging in the sector:
“Pinning down the recipe for success in a new school takes time, insight and a great deal of patience. All school communities are unique and different combinations of approaches inspire and motivate different learners. In addition, schools must continually adapt to changes in technology, the economic, social and political agendas, the needs of the workplace and life for which we are preparing young people.
“New challenges require new solutions. My consultants link expertise in learning and teaching, with knowledge and insight from disciplines such as IT, change management, organisational design and development, partnership development and engineering. We tackle issues such as how teachers develop learning activities and content to engage young people and develop higher-order thinking and cognitive skill. We also look at how teachers and students use their school buildings and technology to access learning opportunities, support and challenge from other young people, teachers, parents and mentors from the academic and business community.
“Through our understanding of the activities of the people who will use the building and working alongside the wider WSP team of designers and engineers, we are developing solutions that reflect the varied ways of working and learning.
“School buildings can be crippled by problems such as ageing, unsustainable heating, lighting and ventilation, poor IT infrastructure and being either too large for a shrinking community or too small for a growing community.
“For this reason, although funding for education is squeezed by recession the world over, capital investment tends to continue. WSP Edunova supports education providers in deriving maximum value from their investment in school buildings and infrastructure by considering design and teaching practice in advance and ensuring changes are well implemented.
Education providers must spend on facilities which serve them well immediately and are flexible to changing demands. To do that successfully, schools need a broad view and to challenge conventional thinking, retaining what works and rethinking what is no longer suitable in a 21st Century scenario.”
RE-INVENTING THE VILLAGE SCHOOL
In Denmark, WSP and architects KHR are working on a carbon-neutral school, library and after-school care facilities in Ørestad, a ‘new town’ area of Copenhagen. The client, Copenhagen City Properties, is keen to link the educational and community aspects of the project and the concept is modelled on an Alpine village.
Inside the new development a path winds up through the eight levels, leading through learning areas via narrow passageways, wide thoroughfares and small piazzas. The route offers views over the surrounding area at various vantage points and stop-offs at private rooms for meetings and quiet study. Outside, the design invites visitors to explore a myriad of small alleyways and terraces and stop by at a fully-integrated public library.
The design minimises energy consumption and maximises sustainable features to be carbon-neutral and eligible for the difficult-to-achieve Danish Class 1 energy performance standard.
WSP is designing the mechanical, electrical and public health services and providing consultancy on fire protection, construction design, acoustics and traffic management.
Contact: olle.fors@wspgroup.se
AIMING FOR GREEN STARS
The Kingston Education Project in Tasmania is a new high school to accommodate 700 students. One of the largest secondary school redevelopment projects under the Tasmanian Department of Education, it aims to be seen as a model for curriculum, teaching and learning both nationally and internationally.
WSP Lincolne Scott is providing an integrated service incorporating a range of innovative and practical low energy and sustainable building design solutions for the school, which is aiming for a Green Star Rating with the Green Building Council of Australia.
Contact: Jessica.McCartney@wsplincolnescott.com
SCHOOL IN A SKYSCRAPER
Lower Manhattan just south of City Hall has a new ‘Structural Star’. The Beekman Tower, a 76 story residential tower designed by the prominent architect Frank Gehry, will also house a new public school at its base that will accommodate the increased demand for school places for local children.
As structural engineer for the tower, which topped out in November, WSP also provided the structural design and co-ordinated the fit-out for the five-storey, 100,000 sq ft school, which comprises classrooms, an auditorium, cafeteria, gymnasium and a library.
Contact: susan.hamos@wspcs.com
ZERO-CARBON CLASSROOM
In September 2011 students at the Essa Academy in Bolton, will move into brand new premises that will enable the Academy to fulfil the promise of its mission statement to “…. provide a state of the art learning environment that will enable high quality learning and teaching in a technological age”.
Kier Education has been appointed for the contract by Bolton Council in northwest England, with WSP on its design team, providing MEP, C&S, Fire, Acoustics, Air Quality, Highway Design, Geotechnical, Flood Risk Assessment and BREEAM services.
The project will include Britain’s first zero-carbon classroom, made from reclaimed materials and generating its own heat and power. This will be designed by the students themselves, competing in teams to design the best scheme, which will then actually be built. The Kier design team will support the students and also judge the competition.
Contact: Stephen.robinson@wspgroup.com
For further information about WSP’s track record in the education sector, visit our solutions education special site at www.wspgroup.com/educationsolutions