Cladicott School Performing Arts Building

Sited beside the original schoolhouse the architects’ brief was to reconnect the school with the surrounding landscape and provide a backdrop for day-to-day activities and special performances.

The building is partially submerged to reduce its bulk, to maintain views and mitigate any loss of light to the surrounding buildings. The entrance foyer for the hall is expressed as a separate tower, which also contains a meeting room on the upper floor and toilets on the lower floor.

As a performing arts building it was intended that the scheme would be seen as embodying three theatres: the quad, the hall and the landscape. Visitors will pass through the old schoolhouse and emerge in the quad prior to performances. The quad frames the landscaped grounds and leads to the entrance tower of the new hall. Once inside, visitors descend one level into the hall which opens directly to the landscape.