Multi-classroom addition to private school by Babbage Consultants

School design of any flavour is about merging efficient classroom learning with a reassuring sense of place for the students. One way to achieve this is to create large, open-plan spaces, but another is to create a more contained, cosy, homely feel.

City Impact Church School is a Christian school on the church's North Shore campus. When it came to a major expansion, the church asked Babbage Consultants to achieve a homely, human scale to the addition, says Babbage director Richard Elliott.

"This project grew almost before our eyes. Project-managed by Varitus Construction with Syd Jones at the helm, the addition was initially for six new classrooms one a science classroom a linking glass corridor, and an external walkway. The science lab needed to be designed to a standard suitable for students taking the Cambridge exams.

"However, this was only part of the story, as an administration and reception centre were added during the design process. Then, with work already underway, two further classrooms and a library were incorporated into the design."

Various ramps and a sheltered walkway were added to bridge level differences and create links to the existing sanctuary, childcare, and classrooms.

"We also built a sheltered walkway to link the new spaces and this connects through to existing school buildings on the campus," says Elliott.

In terms of look and feel, the church wanted a home-meet-school concept to make the children feel secure and comfortable.

Elliott says this was achieved in two ways.

"One was ensuring everything was on a human not institutional scale. To this end, the classroom building has the look of separate buildings, achieved by a segmented louvre facade. Similarly, toilets are single rather than in blocks, and even the shade sails were designed on a relatively modest scale."

The other design approach to contribute to this feel included the specification of residential-type materials like schist accents and the reduction of elements like pinboards in the classrooms.

Working with limited space, the classrooms were built over the existing carpark, now laid with Astroturf. The sheltered space is used for church-goers' cars on Sundays and for sport in the week.

However, for arriving visitors, staff and pupils, it's the school building's new facade in Standing Seam, manufactured by The Roofing Store and installed by Bultrade, that sets the aesthetic tone for the contemporary upgrade.

Bultrade's manager Lance Inglis says the brief was pretty open to suggestions in the early stage of the design concepts.

"One option was to use random panel widths which would fit in well between the different-sized wall modules between the joinery."

Babbage Consultants took this option and specified The Roofing Store's Standing Seam profile, manufactured from the KiwiColour® pre-painted steel Lux range, in the colour Corten Dark.

"The Lux range of KiwiColour products opens up a world of possibilities for architects, designers and manufacturers," says Inglis. "It has a steel base, with a zinc aluminium coating 45% zinc and 55% aluminium alloy to a nominal mass of 200g/m²."

The durable cladding material uses an advanced PVDF paint technology, ensuring it will withstand even the toughest of environments including the schoolyard. The pre-painted, printed finishes are applied through a three-bake process, further enhancing durability and corrosion resistance.

Story by: Trendsideas