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Pokesdown Primary School

Format Milton Architects, Bournemouth, 1998

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Classrooms on the ground floor have access to a sheltered terrace for outdoor teaching

Charlotte Wood (website) Download Original

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Drawings
Working details

Replacement of a Victorian brick school with a low building with overhanging eaves

The building is made of a variety of materials and has a shallow roof that extends beyond the building envelope to offer sheltering eaves.

The classrooms are all grouped on the southern (playground) side of the building, and all have open access to the playground, whether from the lower ground or the first floor levels.

The main entrance is at first floor level on the south side, and is accessed across a balcony walkway. The entrance lobby and office opens in to the main corridor, which runs at right angles to the entrance, and forms the main spine of the school. The curving ramp leads from the entrance, office area, down to the resource centre/library.

The low floor-to-ceiling height was seen as a means of creating a suitable scale for young children. It also allowed the use of ramps, rather than stairs or lifts, to reach the first floor. Light and ventilation to the back of the classrooms are provided by the Ronchamp-inspired coloured 'lightscoops'. The playground offers the same stimulating complexity of levels and zones.