Aurora Laurel Park School, Hertfordshire

SEND learning in a nature-rich environment

Background

e-gg was approached to deliver designs for a collaborative development in the green belt that would provide much-needed new homes alongside a new-build SEND school. The proposed school is for young people with learning difficulties, who need a quiet and calm environment in order to thrive.

e-gg led the design of the school, while housing was designed by Dowen Farmer Architects and landscape by Hill-Wood & Co.

Client:
The Aurora Group and Yogo Group
Team
Dowen Farmer Architects, HGH Planning Consultants, Archway Building Consultancy, Velocity Transport Planning, Frith:Blake Structural and Civil Engineers and Hill-Wood & Co
Status
Planning secured
Budget
£6m
Approach

Impactful education in unconventional surroundings

e-gg’s design supports The Aurora Group’s approach of delivering impactful education in unconventional surroundings, ensuring that the proposed school feels more like a home than an institution.

The new school is considered as a large house, set back from the road and with forecourt parking to the front and a large garden to the rear. In keeping with the local materials palette, the main building has a pitched roof, clad with clay tiles, reclaimed where possible. Breathable, natural cork render and natural timber weatherboarding are proposed for the facades.

Internally, the layouts have been designed to provide 11 classrooms with the capacity for a 3:1 pupil to staff ratio. The main hall offers direct connections to the front and rear, with a fully equipped commercial kitchen for on-site meal preparation. A separate access is proposed that would enable the hall to be used for wider community functions should this be required.

Upstairs, the first floor is allocated for different types of therapy space, which make use of the quieter setting and long views out to nature.

More ‘typical’ classroom spaces are proposed to the rear, in single-storey timber forms that recall stables or similar rural outbuildings. These have been designed to suit off-site construction, clad in timber and topped with extensive green roofs.

Classrooms are arranged around an external courtyard, with visual and physical connections to and through all parts of the school. The courtyard becomes the central heart of the scheme: hosting activities, play, learning and dining. A covered walkway offers protected access between spaces, supported on a rhythm of timber columns that offer the calm of a cloister.

Beyond the classrooms, various forms of outdoor activities are catered for with both formal and informal learning and play spaces.

Buildings have been orientated to make the most of internal solar gains, while roof-mounted photovoltaic arrays offer on-site renewable energy generation.

Immersion in nature

Evidence from the Sensory Trust suggests that regular interaction with the natural environment will offer significant benefits to pupils and staff alike.

To this end, the proposed rich and varied landscape will become a calming environment that supports the needs of the pupils. Through a combination of permeable paving, soft landscaping and resin-bonded rubbermulch, a range of outdoor spaces serve a wide range of requirements.

New planting is proposed to enhance the rural and naturalistic character of the site, visually screening the parking from the neighbouring properties while enhancing the biodiversity.

The courtyard proposals will utilise a calming palette of greens and whites, with planting schemes that engage all five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste and scent), providing gentle movement and seasonal interest. These spaces will stimulate the senses without being overwhelming.

The use of raised beds and level footpaths ensures all pupils and staff can access the garden spaces in the courtyard and beyond. A proprietary canopy creates shade and shelter during the different seasons, with a relationship with the dining room to help those young people with needs best served by eating outdoors.

Benches, tables and seating areas are proposed with varying configurations for use as formal teaching spaces for classes or smaller groups, and provide spaces for quieter 1-1 interactions.

To deliver a net-zero and healthy school, proposed materials will follow the materials hierarchy: prioritising reused, recycled and renewable materials from sustainable, ethical and local suppliers. To minimise embodied carbon, a timber structure is proposed for the classroom blocks, which are clad with natural timber weatherboarding with sedum green roofs and photovoltaic panels.

Internally, natural, recycled and non-toxic materials will create a healthy and homely environment that supports pupil learning.