Welsh super-school wins top architecture award
THE architects behind a new £40m super-school have won a national award for the design. Stride Treglown has won the prestigious gold medal for architecture at the National Eisteddfod of Wales for Ysgol Bae Baglan.
The school is made up of three comprehensives and one primary school on a 15-hectare site.
Designed for children between the ages of three and 16, it houses 1,100 secondary and 300 primary school pupils together with fully integrated facilities for 100 pupils with additional learning needs.
The school has three teaching wings that directly link to a large central space.
Both learning and social spaces have been designed to promote education and improve behaviour, attitude and wellbeing.
It is also open to the community after hours and used for cultural, social and sporting events.
There are more than 2,000 square metres of photovoltaic panels on the roof and a large transpired solar collector which passively preheats air to warm the sports halls, reducing running costs.
The architects, which has offices across the country, including Cardiff, fought off stiff competition from the designers behind three other projects across Wales to win the gold medal, which is supported by the Design Commission for Wales and awarded in association with the Royal Society of Architects in Wales. Carole-Anne Davies, chief executive of the Design Commission for Wales, said: “Design and construction excellence should be the default for the public estate, not least the learning environments where our future generations will be shaped.
“The achievement of public value should be the priority in terms of return on the investment of public funds.
“Much like health, the educational estate, which has so profound an effect on the life chances of our children and communities, must lead the field.
“The client vision, design team collaboration and opportunity for a more cohesive community is inspirational and has formed the heart of a bold design solution.”
All four shortlisted projects for the gold medal will be included in the Architecture in Wales exhibition at the National Eisteddfod of Wales on Anglesey until August 12, which will feature specially-commissioned photography of each building by James Morris, together with poetry by Grug Muse.
Selector and architect Gwyn Lloyd Jones, from Studio Egret West, said of the winning design: “Ysgol Bae Baglan combines a high aspiration of uniting a local community with a dynamic architecture statement. Situated on a flat site, the roof form replicates the surrounding hills and makes the building approachable and welcoming.
“The classrooms are spacious with abundant natural light, while the long school corridor has a curved and playful shape. It is hoped the school will become a focal point for the long-term development of the area, helping to bring the community together.”
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