ACS International School Cobham Fox Building

As part of ACS Cobham’s masterplan to create an Atrium space in their shared Middle and Senior School building, IID were appointed to develop a strategy for decanting the Middle School into an underused four-storey Lower School block.

It was decided to dedicate the brightly-lit top floor to state-of-the-art colour-coded science labs, providing Chemistry and Biology alongside more flexible spaces for the study of Physics, Geology and STEM – where a versatile classroom is equipped with a white Lego wall to stimulate creativity. All teaching spaces at ACS promote progressive methods through adaptable furniture and mobile teacher desks, eschewing ‘chalk and talk’ lessons in favour of student interaction and self-led learning.

Spacious breakout hubs are provided with student cubbies and a real-life elemental table to bring Chemistry lessons to life, with glazed walls providing views between different lessons.  At ground floor the Middle School’s Maker Space promotes innovation and computing through a new ‘Mission Control’-style IT lab and extensive 3D printing facilities.

” From countless comments about how lovely the physical space is by just about every child to countless children being “caught” roaming the space just looking, to countless questions about when are we going to be here or there to ‘wows’. It has been an absolute joy to hear the comments and feel the energy.

We have had so many adults tour the space. And everyone has been super complimentary and positive.”

Lynn Saraiva – Head of Science