Tree of Knowledge
Subscribe now to instantly view this image
Subscribe to the Architects’ Journal (AJ) for instant access to the AJ Buildings Library, an online database of nearly 2,000 exemplar buildings in photographs, plans, elevations and details.
Already a subscriber? Sign in
Daniel Shearing Download Original
Relocation of a school’s library into an existing Edwardian caretaker’s house
Dame Bradbury’s school, Saffron Walden, is part of the Stephen Perse Foundation. Following previous work for the foundation, Chadwick Dryer Clarke was appointed to design a relocation of the school’s library into an existing Edwardian caretaker’s house
This was an opportunity to re-imagine the learning possibilities and the wider role of the library within the school.
The existing library had for many years contained a small ‘Tree of Knowledge’ which had been made by previous pupils of the school. The current pupils wished to continue this concept into the new library, and as such a multi-functional tree was proposed as a new centre-piece.
The tree is formed from lacquered MDF and steel, and forms seating for reading or story-telling. The tree has integrated IT, can play audio recordings, and has a central LED-lit ‘snug’ within the trunk. Knitted within the roots of the tree are book shelves, and acoustic panels form leaves.
Data
- Begun: Jun 2014
- Completed: Sep 2014
- Floor area: 52m2
- Sector: Education
- Total cost: £70,512
- Procurement: JCT MWD 2011
- Address: Dame Bradbury's School, Ashdon Road, Saffron Walden, CB10 2AL, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: chadwickdryerclarke
- Client: The Stephen Perse Foundation
- Structural engineer: Gawn Associates
- Quantity surveyor: Marstan BDB
- Main contractor: Godfrey & Hicks
- Bespoke joinery: Trojan Wood
AJBL Sponsor
Thrislington Cubicles
Builders of the worlds best toilet cubicles, vanity units, lockers and panels at our factory in the United Kingdom since the 1960s