The Orchard Building at Bedales School in Hampshire was presented at the AT Awards live finals on 7 November 2022 at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health to a jury comprising, Nana Biamah-Ofosu, Peter Bishop, Hanif Kara, David Partridge, Simon Allford and Chair Isabel Allen. Read about how the project has stood the test of time, below.
External materials were selected for the way they would weather over time. Credit: Dennis Gilbert/view
The Orchard Building at Bedales School in Hampshire by Walters & Cohen Architects is rooted in the school’s Arts and Crafts beginnings with the principle of truth to materials. External materials –Siberian Larch walls and welded stainless steel roofs – were selected for the way they would weather to a silvery-grey over time, referencing other buildings on the estate where roof and walls share a similar tone. Brick pavers were sourced from the manufacturer of the bricks for Bedales’ Grade I-listed library, a historic link between the old buildings and the new.
Circulation areas include space to work and talk.
Four years before the UK’s first Passivhaus certification was awarded, the architect worked with services engineer Max Fordham to deliver the most sustainable school building possible, using concrete slabs for thermal mass, daylight and natural ventilation, and openable rooflights where hot air rises and is extracted.  circulation is on the south side and the classrooms are on the north for constant light and no overheating. The building retains heat in winter and doesn’t overheat in summer, when the Building Management System opens everything up.
The teaching and admin blocks are linked by a timber-clad reception space.
Flexibility and added value are built in. The main entrance is a place to meet and greet, and to present, display and exchange ideas. Circulation spaces include places to work and talk, while admin offices around the building provide passive supervision. The teaching spaces range from full-class size to small groups and spaces for one-to-one learning. This hierarchy of spaces is expressed in the form of the building. The structural design allows the school to move partitions to make certain spaces larger or smaller if desired in the future. The cost per square metre for the project was lower than the government was paying for state CHRIS WAKEFIELD school buildings at the time
