Harris Academy Sutton School, South London Passivhaus Building Redevelopment, UK Education Photos

Harris Academy Sutton, London School

28 Sep 2022

Design: Architype

Location: 2 Chiltern Rd, Sutton SM2 5RD, England, UK

Harris Academy Sutton, London School Building

Photos by Jack Hobhouse

Jury Report

Harris Academy Sutton, London Building

Harris Academy Sutton is a prototype for 21st Century schools, being the UK’s first Passivhaus certified secondary school, and the largest Passivhaus school in the country. Powered only by a single domestic-scale boiler, the school sets an impressive sustainability benchmark, easily achieving RIBA 2030 targets for operational carbon emissions and being enabled for net-zero carbon.

Situated at the gateway to a world-leading medical cancer research and treatment site, Sutton Council required a new secondary school that would meet their aspirational goals for both sustainability and high quality education. The programme for the scale and quality of building required to achieve Passivhaus certification was challenging and required rigorous attention to detail and air-tightness. What has been achieved is a flexible community asset fit for the future.

The building sits on a compact, sloped site, encircled by mature, protected trees. The form of the school deftly mediates this complex terrain and connects the space between the suburban neighbourhood to the north and impending research complex to be constructed to the south.

Externally, copper and anodised aluminium were chosen to reflect the scientific aspirations of the site, with coded messages from Marie Curie and Albert Einstein displayed on the school gates to inspire the scientists of tomorrow. This playfully contrasts with the vertical larch panels that clad the larger mass of the school. This sustainable choice of materials nods to nature and the gentle environmental impact of the Passivhaus school. Inside, the Cross Laminated Timber structure is celebrated and predominant across ceilings and walls. Classrooms are designed for flexibility, with partitions that allow the space to double or shrink in size, dependent on needs.

Teachers observe that students are more alert, even at the end of long days owing to the biophilic design elements in the school’s design which incorporate high quality, natural materials with extensive daylighting, comfortable temperatures and low CO2 levels. The school also noted that there is an evident sense of pride among students, with university-style independent learning zones and meeting spaces that support the older students’ transition to further education.

Architype are congratulated on their arrangement of the 4-storey design that sits seamlessly into its landscape, avoiding the sense of a large or imposing building. Particular praise is given to the project team’s maintained focus on the sustainability criteria throughout the design and construction stages, producing a demanding yet achievable benchmark for future education projects.

Harris Academy Sutton, London School, UK – Building Information

Title: Harris Academy, Sutton
RIBA region: London
Architect practice: Architype
Date of completion: Aug 2019
Date of occupation: Sep 2019
Client company name: London Borough of Sutton
Project city/town: London

Contract value: Confidential
Gross internal area: 10,625.00 m²
Net internal area: 8,952.00 m²
Cost per m²: Confidential
Contractor company name: Willmott Dixon

Consultants

Structural Engineers
Price and Myers

Quantity Surveyor / Cost Consultant
Synergy

Landscape Architects
Churchman Thornhill Finch

Services Engineer
BDP

Contractor
Willmott Dixon

Educational Consultant
Lloyd Wilson Partnership

Planning Consultant
Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners

CLT provider
KLH UK

WARM Low Energy Building Practice
Passivhaus Certifiers

Awards
• RIBA Regional Award
• Regional Award Short List
• London Southwest

Architype

2022 RIBA Client of the Year Shortlist

Photos: Jack Hobhouse

Address: 2 Chiltern Rd, Sutton SM2 5RD
Phone: 020 3962 4500

Harris Academy Sutton, London School Building, England, images / information received 280922 from The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)

Location: Sutton, South London, England, UK

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