General Introduction to Project
St Thomas of Aquin's High School had been operating from a constrained site in Chalmers Street in south central Edinburgh for a hundred years. A large proportion of the school accommodation comprised Victorian terraced housing. Health and safety and suitability concerns led to the school buildings being closed in June 1998. Due to the lack of available sites in the city centre area, it was agreed to rebuild the school on the existing Chalmers Street site, and the school was decanted into two buildings at Merchiston for three years during the construction period.
The building is included as a case study because it provides an example of a building that has 'civic presence' set within its historic urban context. In addition, the project incorporated a number of 'loose-fit' strategies to ensure the building will be a long-term asset, and one which will accommodate change. In order to ensure that these objectives would be delivered, a requirement to consult with the school community was recognised and undertaken.
The school was designed by the City of Edinburgh in a unique partnership contract novated to a contractor. The design approach drew from the OECD Programme for Educational Building (PEB) incorporating the design principles of 'planning for change'. In terms of achieving the desired objectives, the design was also influenced by office business parks and schools in the United States and elsewhere in Europe - all of which feature successful social spaces at the heart of the building.