A question that we feel is often overlooked is whether it is appropriate to use schools that require significant refurbishment as sample schemes during a bidding process. Strategic design decisions need a level of detailed understanding about the existing buildings, and time with the users that is rarely available, as well as a detailed dialogue with planners, conservation officers and English Heritage that is not entirely appropriate in a competitive situation.

The consequence of doing so is that often designs are progressed at a superficial level until Preferred Bidder stage, leading to the risk that the proposals cannot be delivered or afforded. The result is all too often the inevitable value-engineering after the bid is won. High quality refurbishment projects require a full partnership of all stakeholders that may not in fact be suited to the competitive environment of a bid, which is why perhaps there has been a default to new build.

Surveys – accurate and early

Designers are too frequently issued with measured building surveys that are incomplete, not warranted nor fully coordinated. Key design decisions are being made on the basis of often inaccurate and out of date information. This has severe consequences for Health and Safety and leads to late changes that often are detrimental to the design. If transformational environments are to be delivered using existing building stock then governors, sponsors and local authorities need to invest more in obtaining accurate data for the bidding teams to work from. Perhaps the basis upon which the funding model has been put together should be challenged.

With the pressure to obtain approval and get the project to market, there is a risk that insufficient rigour has been applied to the decisions that lead up to the final allocation. Often decisions as to whether a building is suitable for refresh, refurbish or remodel are made on the basis of visual inspections of the fabric of the building, not detailed investigations that draw in the educational aspirations.

English Heritage and historic buildings

Both English Heritage and the Victorian Society have recently voiced their concern regarding the proposed demolition of historic school buildings. Whilst they recognise the need for change to enable the use of ICT or to create multipurpose learning spaces, they are urging local councils to ensure that the value of their historic schools is fully understood before decisions are taken affecting their future.

Tim Brennan, English Heritage Policy Officer has said that “Proposals for change should be sustainable, based on an understanding of the architectural and historical significance of the school and the way in which it is valued by the community.” This statement is not in conflict with school building programmes and the BCSE has added to this by commenting that this respect of heritage should combine with a respect for the needs of present and future teachers and learners.

This position is in favour of sustainability, promoting community cohesiveness and enabling change. Architects and designers need to inspire confidence that the needs of communities and learners can be met through careful and sensitive use of historic buildings.

Building systems and sustainability

The main environmental factors influencing comfort and attentiveness in schools are quality of natural light, acoustics and control of noise, temperature control and air quality. Solutions inevitably involve a compromise between different components of the working environment, particularly in an existing building. Many of the strategies available to designers to optimise internal conditions and daylighting such as building orientation will of course already be determined by the existing estate and additional constraints such as floor to ceiling heights.  Window to window dimensions will determine strategies for ventilation, lighting and so on.

Low carbon performance will be an important aspect of any school redevelopment, and although existing schools may not be required to go down the zero carbon route, the extent of refurbishment works will in many cases require a solution fully compliant with Building Regulations covering thermal performance. Other approaches to reducing the carbon footprint, such as sustainable energy sources, rain water storage and grey water recycling are equally applicable to refurbishment as they are to new build.

It is crucial when considering refurbishment to fully design the environmental strategy and to ensure it is coordinated and does not compromise the appearance and character of the existing building. Where buildings are listed, alterations and insertions of mechanical systems will require close dialogue with the local authority’s conservation officer. Whilst Building Regulations do offer the possibility of designing to a lesser standard in the case of listed buildings, a more sustainable model that could be applied to all refurbishment projects is to work on the basis of carbon offsetting and building in higher performing systems with larger renewable energy content.

Incorporating specialist provision and accessibility

Access and safe means of escape are vital aspects of new school development which for refurbishment projects can introduce the need for major interventions related to providing level access, extensive lift provision and easy to access WCs in all blocks. It is estimated that over 10 million adults in the UK have a disability and that there are a further 700,000 disabled children. Recently published figures show that nationally 3% of all school pupils are statemented, 14% have a special educational need, but no statement.

When dealing with existing school buildings it is essential to define relevant legislation and current best practice guidance. Whilst there are no technical standards which dictate compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act, the legislation is constantly being upgraded and the DDA itself is due to be replaced in time by the Equalities Act.

Some of the widely acknowledged weaknesses of existing schools include limited facilities for learners with special educational needs (SEN), teaching vocational courses and other dedicated facilities for sports etc. Some new build accommodation may in fact be needed to provide appropriate dedicated resources for SEN.

Education continuity planning

A programme of remodelling can transform a school and affords the opportunity to provide a rational and cohesive site strategy. Unless handled very carefully though, this amount of work can cause considerable disruption to pupils’ learning and inevitably some will leave the school before works are complete and never see the benefit.

Decant costs are a major affordability issue, and a phased approach is likely to be necessary to reduce temporary work costs. Space on site may be a further constraint.  Health and safety requirements for work within an operational school will inevitably have cost and programme implications, so the programming of the most disruptive works during holiday periods has significant benefits to school management.

Contribution of landscape design

Landscape design too can have a dramatic place to play in the transformation of existing schools.  What were barren spaces given over to tarmac and cars can become an oasis providing high quality social spaces within an otherwise cramped inner city environment. The challenge here is to protect the budget for landscape design in recognition of the contribution it has to offer.

Circulation and balance space

One of the advantages of a new build solution is that the school can be designed from a bottom-up perspective with accommodation being designed to respond to the way in which the school is being planned to operate post-completion. To an extent, refurbishment projects are constrained in that they have to fix existing problems, of which circulation is often a major challenge. Using new buildings and amended layouts of existing buildings to provide clearer navigation, better and safer circulation and a stronger presence in the community are an important aspect of a successful school design. Providing secure access to facilities for use by the wider community may also be a further functional requirement.

Ideas:

Managing costs and expectations

• Manage the budget with care. Costs of extensive remodelling can escalate very quickly and often very high costs can actually achieve very little visible impact on the completed scheme.
• Have an open dialogue with the constructors and design team. Work together to prioritise the brief and be prepared to compromise as the unexpected occurs.
• Ensure the building has been surveyed thoroughly. Successful remodelling is about controlling risk and reducing the amount of unknowns. Provide the design team with fully coordinated measured surveys at the outset. The impact of discovering inaccuracies later can be huge.
• Ensure the brief is practical and achievable. Use the available budget to achieve maximum impact. For example, large costs can be incurred in ensuring all classrooms are 60 sq m. Do they really need to be that size or can alternative solutions be found for storage or ICT?