Heathlands School

Heathlands School is the largest deaf school within the UK offering a Total Communication approach to education incorporating British Sign Language, Sign Supported English and spoken English. The school needed more classroom space so they commissioned architects Manalo & White (in collaboration with deaf architect Richard Dougherty) and building contractor Gemstone, to create a new dedicated classroom building on the same site as the existing school building.

The School wanted to improve the provision of classrooms but it was already a tight site so the designers carried out an initial master-planning exercise to identify potential opportunities. They chose to create a new timber-framed building rather than extending the existing school building, and the architects connected the new structure to the existing building via a first-floor level bridge.

Originally the site was built as a Primary School and had been adapted to make it suitable for a deaf school. This new building was purpose built for the requirements of the pupils with 6 bright, open classrooms with generous windows and a state-of-the-art heating, cooling and ventilation system. All of the circulation is exterior so there are no internal corridors. By positioning the new building in the corner of the campus it made use of otherwise under-utilised space and created a new additional outdoor learning area for the students which could be accessed directly from the ground floor classrooms. The new building mirrored the scale of the existing buildings so that it immediately felt like a comfortable addition. The architects didn’t want to design another brick building and instead deliberately chose to clad the exterior, creating a new identity for the building. 

The architects specified Alexandrite Green for the cladding to symbolise nature, health, and harmony, with yellow windows to represent light and ‘thriving in unison. Yellow also helps with perception and helped the students to move easily around the spaces. Initially Gemstone spoke with a number of cladding manufacturers about producing the coloured panels for the project, but it was James Hardie who were able to colour match the panels in custom colour Alexandrite Green with a professional service. Hardie® Panel can be produced in any colour within the RAL colour system, providing plenty of options for every project. They are available in a range of textures, offering the ultimate design flexibility. Gemstone chose to use Hardie® Panel in smooth for the 240m2 envelope of the building.  

Because the project was on a live school site Gemstone had to be sensitive to disruption and pupil access. Deliveries were scheduled for early morning and late afternoon to avoid pick up and drop off hours. The site was cordoned off from the rest of the school during construction to ensure minimal interruption to the pupils and teachers.

All of the panels were designed individually and fabricated off site by Marco Industries to minimise drilling and cutting on site. Not only did this help with health and safety on the school campus but it also sped up the installation process. The project was completed on time, to a very tight budget, and the client was very happy with the delivery.