ARCHITECTURE
& URBAN DESIGN
Project title
One in a Million Free School
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Description
Conversion of a 3000m2 Retail Store into 350-place Free School
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Value
£2.6 million
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Client
Willmott Dixon Construction
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Programme
Completion August 2013
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Location
Bradford
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Architect’s Role
Complete Service RIBA Stages A-L [A-C with MACE]
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"We've opened schools in .... imaginative places but I never thought we'd see a school open in a football club shop"
Lord Nash, Schools Minister
"I think it's fantastic, the design really supports the educational vision."
Lesley-Anne Brooking, Education Consultant
All photographs are © Dennis Gilbert
One in a Million Free School
This conversion of Europe’s largest football store into the One in a Million Free School has won praise for its imaginative approach from Lord Nash, Schools Minister. Formerly owned by Bradford City Football Club the building is now home to 350 secondary school children learning in a creative environment.
The design brings natural light and ventilation into the building and creates adaptable spaces. A large new roof-light over the former escalator void now illuminates the central atrium space.
Using simple strategies for environmental control the design overcomes a 5-fold increase in the density of occupation. A ring of circulation divides the cellular spaces on the perimeter from the open plan areas. Sliding walls and lightweight partitions anticipate desirable changes of layout.
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