St Marylebone CE School Performing Arts Centre, London
- Client: St Marylebone CE School
- Principal designer: Gumuchdjian Architects
- Principal engineer: Alan Conisbee and Associates
- Principal contractor: Mansell Construction Services
- Contract value: £5 million
About the project
Pupils at St Marlylebone School are now inspired by their surroundings rather than restricted by them.
The scheme faced seemingly insurmountable difficulties. The run-down, voluntary-aided secondary school sits on a cramped inner-city site in a conservation area next to the most valuable real estate in the UK. It was in desperate need of a large performing arts facility – or face closure on its site – but lacked the necessary funds. An initiative led by school governors included: two years of negotiations with local planners and community groups; funding efforts by the school, diocese and PTA; and a painstaking excavation and relocation of a large defunct cemetery below the school’s playground – the only feasible site for redevelopment.
The result is a high-quality design that uses passive means to cut carbon emissions and provides plenty of fresh air and daylight, including to the gym nine metres below street level. This is achieved by a large below-ground open courtyard and fully glazed, retractable elevation.
The centre also includes an art department with panoramic views of listed buildings, a music department with state-of-the-art equipment, and dance/drama studios. Benefits to pupils, teachers and parents have far outweighed expectations.
Judges' comment
"A brilliantly inventive use of a tiny site in central London to provide the most airy and spacious volumes."
