Buttress Architects | Culford School Learning Resource Centre

Culford School is a coeducational boarding and day school for ages 3-18. It consists of three schools; a pre-prep and nursery, prep school and senior school.

We have designed a new build contemporary learning resource centre that creates a new sense of place at the academic heart of the school. Sited adjacent to the main, listed Culford Hall and within conservation park land.
The Learning Resource Centre creates a new academic focal point for the site. It is located on the primary pedestrian access between the School’s Boarding and Day Houses and the main teaching facilities. The location next to existing teaching facilities embraces a currently underused transitional space providing a new focus to encourage habitual use. The new building offers excellent new facilities for the changing needs of the School.

Thorough attention to site and heritage issues and successful meetings with the planning and conservation officers, and English Heritage, facilitated a smooth process leading up to the planning application submission.
The simple linear form of the building is articulated with a repeating glumlam timber structure. Large areas of glazing at the entrance end of the building are welcoming and invite pupils to enter into a less formal entrance area. There is a gradual progression along the building from the more social end to the more formal areas where the majority of the books are located.

A mezzanine level provides a quieter study space, with classrooms and other ancillary accommodation located beneath. The open layout allows the librarian to effectively police the space. The building is naturally ventilated throughout.