St Mark's YC

Client - The School Governors
Location - Eccles, Kent
Appointed -
Estimated value - £1.6m

The new St. Mark's 'sustainable' primary school in Eccles, Kent was built on a green-field site adjoining the village and close to the small Victorian school which it replaces.

The design of the new school incorporates naturally ventilated internal spaces, extensive natural lighting, solar panels and green roofs, all within a standard DfES cost allocation.

The architects chose to position the new building at the bottom of the natural slope of the original field close to the site boundary, to take advantage of the views of the surrounding countryside and minimize the visual impact of the new building on the village. The form of the school is derived from the contours of the landscape in which it sits; the top-lit curved 'river' corridor of varying width accommodates the communal & practical teaching spaces for ICT and library; the teaching spaces facing the slope have direct access, via a continuous canopy, to the playgrounds cut into the sloping ground and administration areas plus the circular hall occupy the other side.

The building promotes a sustainable agenda throughout the design including the following features:
solar collection panels on the roof to provide free hot water ducted and tempered fresh air to ventilate the internal spaces under-floor heating from condensing gas boilers a sedum 'grass' roof to reduce rain water run-off and it's visual impact in the open countryside natural cross ventilation to classrooms two-sided daylight from roof-lights & clerestory windows

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