Haberdashers’ Boys’ School opened their Pre-Prep building in January 2023 which was a big milestone for our client who had always been told it would be impossible to build this building here, in Green Belt, within a Listed Park & Garden and next door to a Grade II* Listed Building on the site. With careful stewardship of the design and planning process, possibility blossomed, and the Prep-Prep community are now putting down roots in a brand-new building and have also been able to grow by one form of entry.
The single-storey, earth-sheltered, cross-laminated timber structure was sensitively designed to blend the into the surrounding landscape and minimise the impact on views of the nearby Grade II* listed Aldenham House. Sustainability was a key driver for making this all possible and the building impacts the wider environment as lightly as possible too.
We had lots of conversations with teachers about how spaces inside and outside needed to echo our concept of ‘learn, nurture, grow,’ and reflect the School’s contemporary pedagogical practices. Please get in touch if you want to know more about implementing these ideas for early years learning.
#educationarchitecture #schooldesign #prepschool #clt #earlyyearseducation