Vittoria Primary School & The Look-Out

An experimental school building designed as linked pavilions around three landscaped courtyards in the 1960s, Vittoria School is being altered by Charles Barclay Architects to make it suitable for teaching in to the 21st century.

While keeping the design strategy of the original school, the three class blocks are being extended to the east to give class areas to modern requirements, while a new first floor will provide generous IT and art class provision. CB have worked closely with the school over a number of years to ensure that they work out a design strategy that will be both cost-effective and really improve the day to day feel and running of the school.

The Look Out

A new-build community hall for this 1960s inner London primary school near Kings Cross sits poised on a retaining wall at the edge of the playground, overlooking the main approach to the school like a gate house. It serves both the school and the surrounding neighbourhood and has its own entrance to enable public evening events to take place when the school is closed.

The construction is from eco-friendly cross-laminated timber panels by Eurban, clad with sheet zinc. A large corner bay window looks down Half Moon Crescent and a glazed roof connects the Look Out back to the existing school building, providing a bright covered play area in between. Water run-off from the roof is stored in a cistern for use on the Nursery Garden. The Look Out provided temporary accommodation for two classes during the construction works to the main school.

Throughout the whole process of working with Vittoria Primary School, Charles Barclay Architects were sensitive and responsive to the needs, aspirations and continued smooth running of the school. At the planning stage they worked closely with us, the contractors and the commissioning local authority, to ensure that they understood our ethos and our vision for the future. In doing so they were able to translate those values into the beautiful, light and much modernised building that we have today.
When design changes had to be made due to budget restrictions they were able to come up with viable alternatives without compromising their design values. There was excellent communication between ourselves and CB. Our governors, premises manager and myself were closely involved in decision making.
Improving our facilities was a major priority for this school - enabling us to interact more effectively with our community and support and develop our children. CB made manifest our ideal of 'turning the school inside out'. We now have a large, dedicated art room, a very spacious library, classrooms which suit today's learning activities, a community building for parent and after school classes in a school which is, quite simply, a lovely place to be in.

Sue Hamer Head Teacher, Vittoria Primary School