St. Albans Academy | dRMM Architects

Initiated within the Birmingham BSF programme, and complicated by its eventual cancellation, the challenging budget and procurement has demanded an economic yet inspiring design. Located in the deprived central district of Highgate, the building will provide new accommodation for this non-selective CE academy, and is intended to provide a beacon to match the aspirations of the Sponsor, the Academy, and the surrounding multi-faith community. It will also allow this successful school to admit an additional form of entry and open a 200-place sixth form. The condensed design programme encouraged all parties to engage in an intense collaborative workshop and options period. The result is a compact, geometric and highly legible plan that serves ARK’s pedagogical model, while facilitating Birmingham’s own transformational agenda. The proposal comprises two interconnected buildings defined by two perpendicular axes. The primary axis provides a new circulation route and links the entrance with the external grounds. The two schools-within-a-school are in the eastern half, demarcated by shared resources, while the specialist, sports and dining spaces are in the western half. The resultant interstitial link provides the central organisational device, with aerial circulation providing a sense of choreography to movement around the school. A second axis maintains visual connections to St Alban’s Church and the city centre skyline. A colourful fibre-cement ‘curtain’ will envelope the Academy and provide a foil to the mature trees on this restricted site. The proposed form of construction reflects the school’s engineering specialism.