In May 2014, Jack Richardson Architecture began work with PR Associates on the design of a new £1.9 million multi-storey language block at Prince Henrys High School in Evesham. The new block, named ‘The Grove’, is designed to house the school’s English and Modern Language departments and built to replace the ageing single storey build that occupied the same footprint.
The new language block, made possible with a cash injection from the Education Finance Agency’s ‘Academies Capital Maintenance Fund’ for 2014/15, allowed the existing school classroom arrangement to be formalised. In addition to the existing single storey block, the existing mobile classrooms could be demolished, and everything comfortably accommodated within the new building.
Construction of the project, which began in December 2014 took just over 12 months to complete and officially opened in January 2016.
The new extension block comprises a total of 12 state of the art classrooms, an enhanced office space, a new ICT server room, a redeveloped new front entrance and a large open space foyer.
The main entrance to the block is located on the upper level at the west side of the building, while the lower level opens out to the rear courtyard (East) by means of two flights of stairs. The impact of the West Elevation is minimised to appear as a single storey by means of dropped eaves. On the lower level, the rear elevation towers a full 3-storeys above the courtyard space with more striking visual impact.
Language Block West Elevation
Language Block East Elevation
Designed across a split-level site, the foundations incorporate the existing retaining wall of the former building, combining them with new strip foundations for the 3-storey building. The superstructure of the building comprises a steel frame with concrete block infill.
Steel Frame Under Construction
Language Block Construction Visual Timeline
I was commissioned by PR Associates to produce a number of visuals for the proposed development for approval by the school board and publication in the local paper. The visuals, created using existing photographs of the school, are intended to give an impression of how the project will sit in the context of the existing site and surrounding buildings.
Visitor Perspective 3D Visualisation of Proposed Language Block
After constructing an accurate 3D model of the extension using the proposed CAD drawings, the challenge was to try to imitate proposed material textures and demonstrate how they will look in the final build. I elected not to reproduce a photorealistic visual impression, as it was not possible to obtain suitable photographs of the existing site.
Instead, I elected to reproduce key neighbouring buildings of the site inside the same 3D model, working from CAD drawings and applying appropriate, photorealistic textures from the existing photographs to simulate the visual aesthetic of the site. In this way, I could find a middle ground between photorealism of a photograph and the sterile finish of a computer-simulated 3D model, and blend the two to create a unified aesthetic, true to the context.
3D Model Render of Proposed Language Block
The final images create a way for the viewer to visualise the new build by entering into the computer model, negating the need to perfectly recreate the site.
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