Badminton's Brief
Dating all the way back to 1858, Badminton School has been at the forefront of British schooling for decades, providing pupils with the skills they need to flourish and thrive globally. With a focus on independent development, Badminton sets its sights high for its pupils, encouraging them to push for their full potential going into adulthood. At the heart of that focus, comes intellectual curiosity.
To cultivate that sense of curiosity, which is so vital for the successful development of their students, Badminton School wanted to develop a holistic Hub to enable independent learning. For Badminton, learning shouldn’t stop when students leave the school gates; it should be encouraged, pushed and developed throughout their lives. This self-directed learning model was at the very centre of the brief we received
Our Challenge
The school wanted ‘The Hub’ space to be designed in a manner that would encourage students to pursue this independent learning on top of various activities and evening classes. It had to be a flexible space that didn’t compromise on any area of education, whether that be sports, independent learning or joint classes. Local collaborations and wider initiatives had to be kept in mind too, in order to make ‘The Hub’ a one size fits all community building that could be utilised as both a learning space and a pavilion.
Another more practical consideration was that work on the site had to minimise disruption to visitors and school traffic. Understandably, we needed to develop and build ‘The Hub’ without impacting the day-to-day life of the school. As a building near the front of the school site, it was essential that ‘The Hub’ was in accord with the surrounding campus and represented the values the school wished to project. After all, first impressions matter.
The project was a challenge we couldn’t wait to live up to.
Envoplan's Solution
To kick things off, we offered a full turnkey solution to provide a fully installed and furnished building. We also formed a working group to ensure all aspects of the build considerations were explored. Within this group, modular construction was considered beneficial both from a cost and time perspective.
Envoplan had already developed a 6th-form common room and library for Badminton, so the team wanted to be sure we carried on in a similar vein of form. Also, when moving forward with ‘The Hub’, planning considerations were stringent, and a new planning application had to be submitted, which (thankfully) was successful.
‘The Hub’ featured a variety of top-class study booths with audio-visual facilities in order to create a dedicated space for students to pursue the desired independent learning. A learning wall, catering facilities and design links between indoors and outdoors were also vital for providing multifunctionality.
The flexibility of the space had to include sports, which were intertwined into the design of ‘The Hub’. With the building so close to the astro pitch, we ensured the layout was perfect for hosting match-day teas, as well as parents looking to watch their children compete. These spaces were designed large enough to accommodate larger crowds, as well as those looking to spend time comfortably studying.
Alice Willis, Head of Lower School, has already begun to make great use of the space for an exceptional online anti-bullying class. On the topic of the main presentation room, Alice said that the space was ‘brilliant’ and that ‘having a really large space was great for this environment.’
Headteacher Stuart Dalley was also delighted with the results: ‘We truly believe that investing in the future of our campus and facilities demonstrates our passion, drive and absolute ambition to keep Badminton and our pupils at the very forefront of our world-class provision. The Hub is certainly testimony to that.’
We couldn’t have put it better ourselves.
Gallery
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