Castle view school

The new Castle View School building was one of two sample schemes for Canvey Island that formed part of Skanska’s successful competitive bid for the Essex Building Schools for the Future programme.

The existing school buildings were in much need of repair and the project involved relocating the school from a rural site on the Island’s periphery to a town centre location to form part of the Canvey Town Centre Master Plan. The development was to act as a beacon of education for the local community.

The main building consists of a central assembly hall, atrium and reception space that leads onto four wings of teaching accommodation. The north-facing science wing provides a civic frontage for the school and addresses the town centre. The south-facing humanities wing is reduced in scale and responds to the local residential context on that side. An outdoor space at the front of the school creates a much-needed public space and an opportunity for events and celebrations to take place.

The brick-faced elevations for the teaching spaces provide a low maintenance and robust finish and these are matched with timber cladding boards and thermally broken aluminium windows. A zinc, standing seam drama studio interrupts the building’s skyline and announces the civic role of the new school.

Castle View School was completed while Philip worked as Project Leader at Nicholas Hare Architects. Images courtesy of Nicholas Hare Architects (c) Alan Williams Photography.