Civic Trust Award for Regent High School
Regent High School has been awarded a prestigious Civic Trust Award for 2017. The awards recognise outstanding projects that have made a positive contribution to the local communities they serve.
A total of 247 entries were submitted for consideration for a 2017 Civic Trust Award, Pro Tem Award and AABC Conservation Award. 128 of these entries were considered to be of merit at a regional level, and of this list of regional finalists 53 projects were selected for national and international recognition. 14 UK projects were presented with a Civic Trust Award.
Designed by Walters & Cohen Architects, Regent High School was one of the final projects to receive funding from the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative. After years of piecemeal development, the existing school suffered from various dark, enclosed, indirect circulation routes; teaching and learning spaces that were no longer fit for purpose; and a lack of good quality external spaces for students. As well as addressing these issues, the design needed to allow for an eventual increase in student numbers.
Walters & Cohen’s design supports a wide variety of teaching and learning methods to suit the school's educational vision. Traditional classrooms are grouped around flexible open learning areas, encouraging interactive, personal and collaborative working.
The heart of the school is the Arcade, a triple-height circulation space that links new and existing elements of the campus, and provides a welcoming main entrance. Perhaps the most significant aspect of the school’s new design is its reorientation: flipping the entrance from Charrington Street to Chalton Street has changed how the school relates to its surroundings and how staff, students and visitors approach the school. The building's footprint has been kept to a minimum, with external space maximised to accommodate a variety of outdoor teaching and social spaces.
Students have attractive, state-of-the-art facilities, including a theatre that can be let out for community use, a fully equipped gym, three all-weather multi-use pitches, science laboratories, drama studios, music recital rooms, technology suites, a recording studio, four art studios, a media studies suite and a large library.
Richard Harrison, Director of Community Engagement at Regent High School, said ‘We are thrilled that Walters & Cohen have won a Civic Trust Award in recognition of our outstanding building. It is a thoroughly deserved award, and highlights the importance of excellent design for school buildings.’
You can read more about the Civic Trust Awards on their website.
