Worksop College Boys Boarding House
Key Facts
Client
Worksop College
Location
Cuthbert's Avenue, Worksop
Value
£3,500,000
Internal Floor Area
1990m2
Completion
January 2016
A new boarding quad beside the historic school building.
Project Info
We were appointed to design a building that could meet the varied needs of male boarding students whilst simultaneously preserving the architectural integrity and core identity of the College. We have created a new purpose designed facility that reflects the scale and historic architecture of Worksop College in a modern way. Positioned to the south front of the main building, the new boarding house provides state-of-the-art facilities for some 60 male boarders.
Designed over three storeys, it combines a regular pattern of storey-height fenestration with dramatic brick and stone detailing to create a strong vertical emphasis that acknowledges the existing historic vernacular.
Founded in 1890 by pioneering educational reformer Nathanial Woodard, Worksop College occupies a stunning setting across 310 acres in the heart of Nottinghamshire’s rural landscape, at the boundary of the National Trust-owned Clumber Park. It is a co-educational, independent day and boarding school catering to the educational and pastoral needs of some 400 pupils between 12 and 18 years old.
Accommodating many of the school’s eight boarding houses, the main college building is a striking Tudor Revival-style Grade II listed property incorporating a range of fine architectural details. Recent growth in the numbers of boarding students, however, coupled with a pressing need to increase library, study and classroom space within the existing buildings, dictated the need for a new boarding house within the college grounds.
The design is both robust and sustainable, prioritising the use of high-quality materials and green technologies in order to minimise energy usage and carbon emissions and promote the well-being of pupils.
To this end, the inclusion of brick within the building fabric is complemented by high-performance insulation to minimise heat loss; the exclusive use of LED lighting, and an internal layout which positions the majority of functional space at the south in order to benefit from solar gain.
Flooded with natural light via large storey-height windows that offer stunning vistas over Clumber Park, the modern interior is complemented to each floor by internal exposed flemish bond brick feature walls, which reinforce the aesthetic and technical qualities of this modern and versatile building material.
