Walton Leigh School

The brief

The brief was to build a detached classroom block with two new class bases, a music room and a medical inspection room, at a school for children with severe disabilities.

The challenges

The requirements were high, while the budget and timescales were low. Disruption to the day to day running of the school needed to be minimal, and the building required wheelchair access and mobility.

The solution

With wheelchair access and mobility essential, Thurston designed extra wide corridors and doors and flush entry at the front door. A range of window shapes, at both low and high levels, enabled all students to see outside.

The use of modern methods of construction was key for speed, and to minimise disruption to the day-to-day running of the school.

Paul Ginever, FM Modern Design Architects, said: “Walton Leigh School needed the new space in a very short space of time. Without room to construct on site, and a very stringent budget, our only option was to look at pre-fabricated systems. We had some specific requirements about acoustic proofing for the music room and structural insulated panels. Thurston’s ticked the right boxes in terms of our requirements, tight budget and even tighter timescales.”