The Langley Academy by Foster + Partners
Foster + Partners have completed the Langley Academy in Slough, England.
Full description after the photos….
Photography by Nigel Young
The Langley Academy by Foster + Partners
With an enclosed full-height atrium at the heart of the three-storey building, the social life of the school revolves around this assembly space for 1,100 students. A recurrent element in several other of Foster + Partners’ academy buildings, the atrium is defined by a sense of transparency and openness – like a gallery of learning – which in this case also resonates with the museum theme. Inside the atrium there are three yellow drums raised above the floor on circular columns. These two-storey pods house the Academy’s ten science laboratories, reinforcing the importance of science teaching. A dedicated sports and culture block contains specialist facilities for music and drama including a fully equipped theatre, a TV and sound recording studio, soundproofed practice rooms and a rehearsal space, sports hall and lecture theatre. The academy’s two light and airy covered streets extend from the atrium and are lined with 38 classrooms.
The environmental features save 20% in water consumption and approximately 150 tonnes of CO2 per year compared to a traditional academy and are used in the teaching of science and environmental issues. Students can see the solar collectors on the roof and the workings of the exposed plant room, as well as the network of pipes that illustrate how energy is generated and carried through the building. Rain water is collected and stored and grey water filtered for reuse in sanitation and irrigation; a system of horizontal louvers provides shade; and the building has been configured to allow out-of-hours use by the wider community, ensuring its sustainability over time. Foster + Partners and Buro Happold collaborated on the environmental design.
Nigel Dancey, a senior partner and design director at Foster + Partners said:
“Environmental performance and appearance are indivisible at The Langley Academy. The school pioneers a revolutionary new educational concept which draws on the theme of museums and galleries, so that the school itself is like an exhibit, with its physical manifestation a showcase and educational tool for environmental design.”
Visit the Foster + Partners website – here.
.
chip on 16 Nov 2009 at 3:49 pm #
Really fun design.
The current decoration seems a bit odd for an academy- it just looks more suited as an office for a design or software or hipster manufacturing company where they could personalize the decor a bit more. Seeing all these children in stuffy uniforms in such a sparse impersonal space just seems a bit too cold- you’d think with that function, you’d want some more natural materials inside.
Seems like it will feel more ‘friendly’ if they’d let the kids put flyers and art on the walls …
AMcA on 16 Nov 2009 at 7:41 pm #
Cool School!
Jon on 16 Nov 2009 at 7:45 pm #
Many times people will compare being stuck inside school walls to that of being in a prison. Perhaps by coincidence, every interior image reminds me of a refined, “fun” prison design. Parallels to the panopticon typology with the central yellow form looking out onto the schools ‘dayroom’, and even the narrow, tall space of the computer room brings to mind the Alcatraz cell composition. A possible statement attempting to poke fun at school being a prison? Hope not…
Euan on 17 Nov 2009 at 3:34 am #
Like Jon, panpticon and prison were the words that sprang to my mind. The ’soft’ outside seems to give way to a rather harsh interior and the roofed couryrad’s resulted in a lot of artificial lighting required.
rob w on 17 Nov 2009 at 4:18 am #
hmmm, don’t like to sound boring but agree absolutely with chip, jon & euan; also its like a smart shopping centre in somewhere like dubai. Not sure really how these spaces are supposed to ‘teach’ the kids anything? maybe not to take life and architecture too seriously…………..
Jake on 17 Nov 2009 at 7:26 am #
Outside gorgeous. Inside? Pink Floyd the Wall anyone?
Just Lazy form making if you ask me.
And the detail of how the louver support brackets poke through the wood siding is a recipe for rapid decay.
Eamonn on 20 Nov 2009 at 4:00 pm #
Looks like a modern prison!