16th November 2011
A Newcastle independent girls’ school is to be given an overhaul that will transform the school into a cultural gem, thanks to architectural firm, _space group.
The Girls’ Day School Trust has hired _space group to undertake a £2.5m refurbishment of Chapman House, the Central Newcastle High’s Junior School, including the renovation of a local hidden gem - the grade II listed Regency Villa designed by John Dobson.
Once the renovation is complete, it is hoped that the school will be able to open up the listed building to the public, as well as participating in the Heritage Open Days initiative, which sees the UK’s hidden cultural gems accessible to the public free of charge in September.
The school will be home to a host of creative curriculum activities, including drama, art, heritage and cultural studies, natural and ecology studies and music, led by Central Newcastle High Head of Junior School, Angela Charlton. It will feature a library and cultural resource centre, discovery zone and music practice room.
Headmistress at Central Newcastle High School said: “This is a very exciting time in the school’s history. We will be merging our two Junior School sites to one location, Chapman House, and enabling all our Junior pupils to be under one roof. _space are working with us to deliver an exciting learning environment for the junior girls which will very much tie in with our delivery of a creative curriculum.
“Chapman House, which includes a John Dobson designed building, has many beautiful features and sits in five acres of gardens and woodland. The renovation planned will make the best use of this wonderful space. This will be of enormous benefit to our pupils as well as the public who will have better access to our facilities.”
Renovation of the Regency Villa, designed by John Dobson the well-known Newcastle architect, will be handled by _space group’s conservation team. _space has 25 years of conservation education experience, including renovation projects at Kings School Tynemouth and Mowden Hall in Northumberland. The conservation team’s work has also been recognised in other areas, with a recent refurbishment of Grade II listed Mansion House Chambers winning recognition across the North.
_space architect specialising in conservation Phil Lloyd said: “Renovating the John Dobson building is part of the larger challenge of refurbishing Central Newcastle High School, and we are looking forward to being able to unlock this gem for current and future pupils as well as the public. Part of our work will be to devise and deliver a simple contemporary addition to the entrance allowing the formal domestic entrance, with its classical portico, to become the face of the junior school which will ensure that this hidden gem becomes a valuable part of the school.”
As well as working with an architecturally sensitive building, the _space group team will be delivering the project while the school remains open. Having previously delivered a £13.5m refurbishment and remodel of Hummersknott School and Language College, Darlington that included significant building works while the school remained operational, the _space group team is confident that Central Newcastle High School can be delivered successfully.
_space project architect Carinna Gebhard said: “Our top priority on an education project is ensuring that pupils are given the best learning environment possible, and we are used to the extra challenge that working in a live school environment throws up, such as the additional health and safety requirements on site and the need for a well-planned project. The ‘phased’ approach is a good solution to this challenge as it ensures we can deliver a tightly planned project that will cause minimal disruption to pupils.”
The scheme will also include a new nursery and reception classrooms, and the integration of the second floor to the twentieth century extension which was mothballed in 1998 when the school took over the building.
Carinna continues: ““For the Central Newcastle High School project, the watchword is ‘enhancement’. Their desire is to make sure that their existing building stock is enhanced to deliver a curriculum that meets the needs of their pupils now and can be adapted to anticipate the requirements of future pupils. With our experience on both education and conservation projects, we are confident that we can turn this desire into a plausible reality.”
www.spacegroup.co.uk
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