Riverside Primary School
PlymouthRiverside is one of three new primary schools designed by LHC in Plymouth, in a project which involved designing new-build, stimulating replacements for ageing primary stock.
The school comprises a single storey element containing classrooms organised along a ‘top-lit’ street, intersected by a double height volume containing the main hall, studio and kitchen. A full range of sustainable features including photo-voltaic panels, underfloor heating and natural ventilation have been incorporated.
Service
Architecture
Sector
Education
Value
£5.5m / £1.3m
Foundation Stage classrooms were tailored to teachers’ preferences, covered play spaces allow teaching in an ‘outside classroom’ setting and provide solar shading. The fundamental elements to each school design are flexible teaching spaces and inspiring play spaces.
LHC designed Riverside in 2009, but by 2014 an increase in pupil numbers meant that the school needed to expand and the team was asked to design a new stand-alone extension to enable it to become a full 3-form entry primary school.
The 2014 teaching block comprises six , single-aspect classrooms with en-suite cloakrooms, adjacent toilets and cleaners’ stores. There is also a 15-person meeting room; 1-to-1 tutorial rooms; break-out spaces and ancillary stores. A covered walkway links the new and the existing buildings and new, vibrant play areas have been sited in front of the new teaching block.
