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Holland Park school opts for corporate vision with £80m building Holland Park school opts for corporate vision with £80m building
(about 1 hour later)
Rising above the trees, a rack of gleaming metallic fins trumpets the arrival of a new beacon of education: the £80m headquarters of Holland Park school in west London. Once known as the "socialist Eton", nurturing the offspring of high-profile lefties – including Hilary Benn and the Guardian's Polly Toynbee – it was one of the first purpose-built comprehensives when it opened in 1958. It enjoyed an experimental, free-form curriculum in the 1970s, but has more recently been marshalled under the leadership of its current head teacher, Colin Hall, who is in the process of transferring it to academy status. Creative anarchy has been replaced by discipline and uniforms.Rising above the trees, a rack of gleaming metallic fins trumpets the arrival of a new beacon of education: the £80m headquarters of Holland Park school in west London. Once known as the "socialist Eton", nurturing the offspring of high-profile lefties – including Hilary Benn and the Guardian's Polly Toynbee – it was one of the first purpose-built comprehensives when it opened in 1958. It enjoyed an experimental, free-form curriculum in the 1970s, but has more recently been marshalled under the leadership of its current head teacher, Colin Hall, who is in the process of transferring it to academy status. Creative anarchy has been replaced by discipline and uniforms.
And now Holland Park school has the building to match its dreams.And now Holland Park school has the building to match its dreams.
"We wanted it to be something unconventional and a little bit grand," says Hall. "There should be an element of aspiration, lifting the pupils out of the ordinary.""We wanted it to be something unconventional and a little bit grand," says Hall. "There should be an element of aspiration, lifting the pupils out of the ordinary."
This aspirational monument takes the form of a six-storey monolithic box, wrapped with an undulating skin of bronze and copper fins that extend along its western facade and over the roof to engulf the building in a futuristic cage. To the east, the fins give way to a rippling mesh curtain that swells in and out along its length in an attempt to break down the sheer bulk of the box behind it.This aspirational monument takes the form of a six-storey monolithic box, wrapped with an undulating skin of bronze and copper fins that extend along its western facade and over the roof to engulf the building in a futuristic cage. To the east, the fins give way to a rippling mesh curtain that swells in and out along its length in an attempt to break down the sheer bulk of the box behind it.
This glistening cruise-liner of a state school is the result of a land deal, by which a swath of its grounds to the south was sold off by the borough of Kensington and Chelsea for a housing development, earning it £105m, which paid for the project and beyond. By stacking the new building up into a six-storey slab, the rest of the site, currently home to the 1950s campus, can be transformed into playing fields, a facility that the school has never had.This glistening cruise-liner of a state school is the result of a land deal, by which a swath of its grounds to the south was sold off by the borough of Kensington and Chelsea for a housing development, earning it £105m, which paid for the project and beyond. By stacking the new building up into a six-storey slab, the rest of the site, currently home to the 1950s campus, can be transformed into playing fields, a facility that the school has never had.
"PE is one of the chief beneficiaries of the move," said Hall, describing the new AstroTurf sports pitch, multi-use games area, four-court sports hall, fitness suite – and 25m indoor swimming pool."PE is one of the chief beneficiaries of the move," said Hall, describing the new AstroTurf sports pitch, multi-use games area, four-court sports hall, fitness suite – and 25m indoor swimming pool.
We enter the main building through a polished bronze box into a soaring white atrium, one side of which tilts back at a dramatic angle, carrying a stack of open corridors on a marching range of angled steel columns. The walls either side of the atrium are entirely glazed, and everything is drenched in a clinical whiteness, giving it more the feeling of a corporate headquarters. But that is the point. "We didn't want it to look or feel like a school," said associate head, David Chappell, describing disappointing visits to other model-educational buildings. "This had to be unique, something that will be cherished. We are creating a legacy."We enter the main building through a polished bronze box into a soaring white atrium, one side of which tilts back at a dramatic angle, carrying a stack of open corridors on a marching range of angled steel columns. The walls either side of the atrium are entirely glazed, and everything is drenched in a clinical whiteness, giving it more the feeling of a corporate headquarters. But that is the point. "We didn't want it to look or feel like a school," said associate head, David Chappell, describing disappointing visits to other model-educational buildings. "This had to be unique, something that will be cherished. We are creating a legacy."
There are certainly some radical innovations. The toilets are unisex and have no doors – apart from the cubicles themselves – to discourage bullying. Everything is as open and transparent as possible, with views through from one side of the building to the other, and glazed staff offices looking into the atrium to allow "passive supervision".There are certainly some radical innovations. The toilets are unisex and have no doors – apart from the cubicles themselves – to discourage bullying. Everything is as open and transparent as possible, with views through from one side of the building to the other, and glazed staff offices looking into the atrium to allow "passive supervision".
"There are no hidden areas anywhere in the building," said Hall. "No dark places where people can be intimidated." Even the library (or "learning resource centre") is an open-plan area at the bottom of the atrium, overlooked by corridor decks and classrooms. I can imagine it would be a difficult place to concentrate."There are no hidden areas anywhere in the building," said Hall. "No dark places where people can be intimidated." Even the library (or "learning resource centre") is an open-plan area at the bottom of the atrium, overlooked by corridor decks and classrooms. I can imagine it would be a difficult place to concentrate.
The classrooms are arranged with general teaching spaces along the eastern side, with more specialist rooms for science, technology and dance lining the west, overlooking the park. They are generously planned, designed in banks of three within the concrete frame, so they can be easily adapted to future demands. Each room has a built-in "teacher's wall", a kind of fold-out mini-office, while furniture has been bespoke designed in solid maple by Russell Pinch and manufactured by Ercol. A Holland Park chair can be yours for £400. "We find that we can put in things of quality and our pupils respect them," said Hall. There is logic to this philosophy, if you have an £80m budget to play with.The classrooms are arranged with general teaching spaces along the eastern side, with more specialist rooms for science, technology and dance lining the west, overlooking the park. They are generously planned, designed in banks of three within the concrete frame, so they can be easily adapted to future demands. Each room has a built-in "teacher's wall", a kind of fold-out mini-office, while furniture has been bespoke designed in solid maple by Russell Pinch and manufactured by Ercol. A Holland Park chair can be yours for £400. "We find that we can put in things of quality and our pupils respect them," said Hall. There is logic to this philosophy, if you have an £80m budget to play with.
This strangely corporate vision for education is the work of Aedas architects, the biggest architectural practice in the world. It has designed more than 1,000 schools, as well as office blocks, business parks and even whole cities across the globe.This strangely corporate vision for education is the work of Aedas architects, the biggest architectural practice in the world. It has designed more than 1,000 schools, as well as office blocks, business parks and even whole cities across the globe.
The teachers heap praise on the Aedas team for being "the most open" and "the best at listening to what a school should be". But I can't help thinking that a smaller, more agile practice, less used to the scale of airport departure halls, might have had a lighter touch and delivered something a little more humane. It is rumoured that Michael Gove is considering sending his son here, which would an odd choice for a Tory education secretary who has declared that no "award-winning architects" should be designing our schools. In Holland Park, he has the perfect example of how a vast budget and a big architect can lead to a building that, for all its good intentions, uses architecture to create a slick, lifeless image, which ultimately adds little to the educational experience.The teachers heap praise on the Aedas team for being "the most open" and "the best at listening to what a school should be". But I can't help thinking that a smaller, more agile practice, less used to the scale of airport departure halls, might have had a lighter touch and delivered something a little more humane. It is rumoured that Michael Gove is considering sending his son here, which would an odd choice for a Tory education secretary who has declared that no "award-winning architects" should be designing our schools. In Holland Park, he has the perfect example of how a vast budget and a big architect can lead to a building that, for all its good intentions, uses architecture to create a slick, lifeless image, which ultimately adds little to the educational experience.
Holland Park alumni
• Labour MP Hilary Benn, son of Tony Benn, a former international development secretary and environment secretary.
• Melissa Benn, journalist and novelist, daughter of Tony Benn.
• Polly Toynbee, Guardian columnist and writer.
• Jenny Abramsky, former director of BBC radio.
• Anjelica Huston, who won the best supporting actress Oscar for her role in Prizzi's Honor.
• Drummie Zeb, AKA Angus Gaye, drummer and one of the lead singers of the reggae group Aswad.
• Miquita Oliver, who has hosted shows on BBC Radio 1 and was a co-presenter on Channel 4's Popworld.
• The stand-up comedian Omid Djalili.
• Yazz, real name Yasmin Evans, the singer best known for her 1988 No 1 hit The Only Way is Up.
• Gwyneth Strong, best known for her role in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses as Cassandra.