Grace Academy, Coventry, United Kingdom

A dramatic entrance for forthcoming school
Swanke Hayden Connell Architects (SHCA) has unveiled its designs for Grace Academy, Coventry, England.

Located in Woodway Park, in the north east of Coventry, the new academy will comprise a mixed school and sixth form for 1,350 pupils aged 11-18 and will specialize in Business and Enterprise.

The new 11,949 sq m academy will replace the former Woodway Park School and occupy the existing site. SHCA’s designs comprise a main building with four wings, each being two storeys high with a central overarching three storey cantilevered structure. There are a total of over 60 teaching spaces provided with support and ancillary facilities.

The entrance façade of the building will be made up of glass curtain walling which will emphasise the open nature of the academy to the community. The rear elevation will face the green sports field which will provide a ‘garden wall’ acoustic barrier to the M6 motorway.

The main entrance, under the lecture theatre, opens up to reveal a three storey open space surrounded by walkways with a partially transparent roof overhead. The central space forms the heart of the academy and the central staircase allows the whole school to be addressed from the landing.

The project has been procured under a Two Stage D+B Contract integrating the design team comprising SHCA as architects, the Client and Buro Four as Project and Construction Managers respectively, Davis Langdon (QS), Ramboll Whitby Bird (Structural Engineers), N.G. Bailey (Services Sub Contractors), and Robert Townshend (Landscape Architects). The main contractor is BAM Construct UK Ltd. The Academy is scheduled to be completed early in 2010.

source: www.worldarchitecturenews.com
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