Building Schools for the Future at
THOMAS TALLIS SCHOOL
APRIL 2011:
The scaffolding is starting to come off the building and we can now see much of the brickwork on the blocks nearest the old school. The contrasting white and buff bricks work really well and the floor to ceiling windows in every room should create a lovely connection between the interior spaces and the surrounding landscape. We have also completed the design work for the interior graphics and signage. We are nearing the completion of the new school uniform. You can find out about both these projects by visiting the Tallis Graphics and Tallis Uniform blogs.
We will keep this site regularly updated with news about the construction. Occupation of the new building is currently set for 1 November 2011.
Trish Dooley, Deputy Headteacher
About
Thomas Tallis School in Greenwich has existed for over thirty years on its current site. Originally built in the early 1970s to house 850 students, the school now contains twice that number and is bursting at the seams. This is mainly due to its success as a provider of high quality education, its ambitious curriculum offer and expanding Post 16 Centre.
Tallis became a specialist arts college in 1998. It has since gained numerous other designations, most significantly Leading Edge status in 2005. In 2009, the school became one of only thirty national Schools of Creativity in recognition of its ability to develop creative approaches to learning and teaching.
Consistent with its commitment to creativity, the school has worked hard to involve its community in a detailed consultation process about the design of the new school building. Our ambition is to provide a Creative Hub for the whole community, including students, parents, local residents, employers and visiting practitioners. Our school will be the first major public building erected as part of the Kidbrooke Vision masterplan. We are committed to providing our students with an education fit for the 21st century in state of the art facilities.
The following pages describe some of the exciting features of our new school. We hope you agree that the building, and all it represents, is an exciting development in the history of the area. Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you need any further information about the new building.
Other useful links:
The main school website
Tallis Talk
Creative Tallis
Tallis LAB
Design
The design of the new school has been influenced by a detailed consultation process with the whole community.
Working closely with our architects, John McAslan + Partners, we have retained some of the design features of the current school that were felt to be crucial in having helped shape our ethos. A good example is the central concourse, which functions as a social hub or marketplace, providing opportunities for students, staff and visitors to meet at various points in the day.
However, the new school will have significant additional specialist spaces providing the whole community with state of the art facilities and enabling us to deliver an exciting curriculum for students of all abilities and talents. Access to community facilities has been made easier and circulation around the building will be enhanced by multi-level walkways. There is a close connection between indoor and outdoor learning facilities. We plan to extend the exisiting market garden, making it more visible at the front of the site. There are also designated outdoor classroom areas.
The interior design utilises colour coding and clear signage for greater accessibility. The majority of the teaching spaces are housed in three blocks to the west of the site. Rooms will benefit from full height windows and a mixture of natural ventilation and air management, providing superior levels of comfort and excellent learning conditions. Significantly enhanced sports facilities, a student cafe, performing arts spaces and other classrooms make up the other blocks. We have paid close attention to the dining area and toilets, areas which are of particular interest to students and which deserve to be of the highest standards.
Community
Our vision for the new school is for it to be a community resource, a place where learning happens within and beyond the normal school day. We have conducted extensive consultation with our community about the ways in which the school can support the aspirations of all local people.
We asked Loaded Productions to capture the beginning of this consultation process in a documentary entitled Thinking Space. Click the image opposite to watch the film. We have designed a range of facilities in the new building that combine specialist functions with flexible learning spaces. Schools can be lively, exciting and communal spaces. We very much hope that the new Thomas Tallis School will inspire local people and that our students will benefit from learning in a community setting.
Community facilities in the new school will include:
Environment
We have been keen to connect the building with the landscape and you can see from the plan opposite that we have maximised the amount of green space in line with our belief in the value of learning outside the classroom.
The local authority has purchased land at the back of the current school site that will form the new sports pitches, including two full size football pitches, a multi use floodlit games area and athletics facilities. The current school building will be demolished following occupation of the new school and this land will become additional outdoor learning space. This is where an extra hard court play area, the market garden and outdoor classrooms will be located.
A strip of land alongside the Kid Brook has been designated as a flood storage ara. This will enhance the biodiversity of the site as well as protect surrounding land from flooding. As well as maintaining the vast majority of existing trees, we are planning to plant many more. The mounded areas on the Kidbrooke Park Road boundary will be maintained and enhanced, reducing both noise and pollution. The use of a biomass boiler and other energy efficient technologies will mean that the new school will conform to very high environmental standards.
Gallery
These are just some of the images of the new school building. Click the images to zoom in and out.
Live Video Feed
Click the image on the right to see live video footage of the construction of the new school.
We are taking regular snapshots of the construction using this camera so that we can create a time lapse film of the whole process once the building is completed.
BUILDING SCHOOL for the FUTURE at
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