EDITOR ’ S CHOICE
EDUCATIONAL NORDIC COPPER
THE ARCHITECTURAL CLARITY OF A NEW TEACHING FACILITY AT GRESHAM ’ S SCHOOL IN NORFOLK – INCORPORATING PANELS OF NORDIC BROWN LIGHT PRE-OXIDISED COPPER ALONGSIDE FULL-HEIGHT GLAZING – TYPIFIES AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO EDUCATION
Enabled by Sir James Dyson , a former pupil at the school , the centre for Science , Technology , Engineering , Arts and Mathematics ( STEAM ) education is a state-of-the-art structure at the heart of the School campus . WilkinsonEyre ’ s design develops and refines the evolving STEAM building typology , and follows a modern aesthetic integrating industrial components with landscaping and low energy systems .
OPAQUE & PERFORATED PANELS
The two-storey exposed steel frame envelopes a mixture of large panels : some glass and others Nordic Brown Light pre-oxidised copper – either opaque or with square perforations adding transparency whilst screening glazing behind . Some of the panels are set back within the structure , introducing landscaped open areas which can be used for outside teaching . Integrated planting blurs the boundaries between outside and in .
The thoroughly modern building remains sympathetic to its historic context and its scale reflects that of the 1916 school chapel across the lawn . Meanwhile , the patterns in the Nordic Brown Light copper panels mirror decorative flint details on the chapel elevation .
BUILDING AS A TEACHING TOOL
Yasmin Al-Ani Spence , Director at WilkinsonEyre , said : “ This building will provide contemporary teaching spaces for the investigation of the sciences and the arts simultaneously , enhancing critical thinking and promoting innovation . The building itself – through the clarity and honesty of design and construction - becomes a teaching tool in its own right .”
With an area totalling 4000m ², teaching spaces are generous and filled with light . They include classrooms , laboratories , workshops , an auditorium and open-plan common spaces able to host a variety of teaching and learning uses . An inviting and interactive internal courtyard , doubling up as circulation , features an arts hub , seating area , and IT point and facilities , further reinforcing the integration of art , design , and science .
The building is equipped with the latest technology to ensure the highest levels of teaching , from robotics and Artificial Intelligence to programming and machine learning . The building will also provide greatly improved opportunities for the outreach programme which Gresham ’ s runs with local schools .
PERFORMANCE & APPEARANCE NATURALLY
Nordic Brown copper provides the same oxidised brown surface that otherwise develops over time in the environment . The thickness of the oxide layer determines the colour of the surface finish with dark or the lighter ‘ Nordic Brown Light ’ shades of brown .
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