Design Features
The building provides a striking image when the school is first approached from Greenock along Inverkip Road with a 25m high wind turbine - the largest of its type in a UK school. The turbine provides between 15-20 per cent of the school's energy.
The school was designed to provide a secure, safe, healthy working environment and at the same time deliver a high quality learning and teaching facility for the children and the community.
The building has four main elements; the hub, two teaching wings and the 
sports wing. It forms what pupils described as a 'twisted F' with the three wings radiating from the hub. The hub houses the administration, management, and pupil support, dining and main pupil social areas on the ground floor with the assembly hall, library, performing arts and senior social areas on the first floor. The visibility across and through the large internal feature windows of the hub along with the views through the extensive fully glazed curtain walling not only create a positive atmosphere but contribute to the feeling of well being and safety evident in all pupils and staff.
"Having the library off the English wing, linked together with the IT facilities makes working much easier - these are the things that grind teachers down, which we have ironed out." Head Teacher, Inverclyde Academy
This visual connection through the layering of glazed apertures and the simple composition of forms contributes enormously to navigation and an early understanding of the building. All three wings have wide corridors, high ceilings and high volume with natural light and ventilation through open voids and extensive roof and wall glazing. 
The upper corridors of the two main teaching wings are in effect double volume spaces with voids in the floors drawing light down to ground level. The light pours in from above and is taken into the back of classrooms through high level glazed panels along the corridors. The increased volumes and physical corridor widths reduce noise levels, eases congestion and helps create a calming circulatory space.
The classrooms are cellular built to a comparatively larger size of 65m2 and like Newark Primary (which is also included as case study) have natural daylight from two directions. The school has extensive music provision, including a specific keyboard suite, music practice rooms and a recording studio, all of which are also available for community use. There is also a large catering style kitchen which provides pupils with facilities and opportunities for work experience.
The design of the school allows community use of the sports facilities without compromising the school's operation or pupil security and gives controlled access to other teaching spaces by the community in the evenings or during breaks in the school term.
ASN provision
The Pupil Support arrangements reflect the Council's commitment in this area, with integrated behavioural, pastoral care and learning support facilities located at the heart of the school. Special needs facilities such as specialised toilets and adjustable-height furniture in practical departments support the integration of 8 pupils with limited mobility currently enrolled at the school.
Energy Rating and performance:
The building has achieved an Energy Performance Certificate A rating.
The approximate current energy use per floor area is 104 kWh/msq. The calculated carbon dioxide output is approximately half that required by the Scottish Building Standards Technical Regulations.
The design measures outlined above have enabled this and give the following reductions compared to the Scottish Building Standards Technical Regulations.
- Daylighting enabling the majority of internal spaces to operate without artificial light - 27%
- Enhanced insulation values - 6%
- Low energy M&E systems and equipment-9%
- Renewable energy technology - Turbine & PV array - 7%
For further information on renewable technology please see Inverclyde Academy's online real time energy summary which displays information about the school's renewable energy production and overall energy consumption.
Choice of Site
The eventual site required existing blaes sports pitches to be relocated to comply with Sportscotland's Pitch Strategy.
As the campus is at the base of a valley the appearance of the roof and school grounds were as important as the building's elevations. The design team needed to consider the massing of the building, the limiting of flat roof areas, and the exclusion of roof top plant. Designers also utilised the landscaping scheme, including earth mounding to help create a variety of levels across the site, the use of planting and trees to break up fence lines and hard landscape areas and brick pavers in car-parks and on pathways to reduce areas of black asphalt.
"There are lots of little paths you can go for walks or maybe just sit on the benches." S2 Pupil
The location of the building developed quite naturally, taking cues from the existing site, proximity of the roads and rail as well as establishing a northerly and southerly orientation for the classrooms to enable the architects to maximise natural day lighting whilst controlling solar gain and glare. Another significant item was the positioning of the sports pitches whose set size limited the number of available options. The site is very close to the local sports stadium and running track and the council is committed to enhancing the sporting provision for both school and community use.
Materials
The building is of steel frame construction with a mill finish stucco embossed aluminium roofing system. The external finishes are a mix of off-white rendered block with contrasting brick base course, copper red Trespa panels, with aluminium glazing. North, South and East elevations of the hub, along with the main circulation stairs consist of aluminium curtain walling finished in dark grey.
The elevated double volume of the assembly hall is clad in a green copper effect aluminium cladding panel. Feature elements of the sports wing incorporate Kingspan microrib cladding panels laid horizontally in a deep coral red.
Pre cast concrete stairs with stainless steel handrails are set within stair enclosures consisting of a combination of hard plastered block work internal walls and non structural plasterboard partitions.
A concrete floor slab forms the substrate to a raised access floor with various floor finishes including carpet tiles to classrooms and circulation corridors with all wet areas consisting of safety vinyl and or ceramic floor tiles.
Roof consists primarily of a pitched Kingspan roofing panel system with a large expanse of double glazed rooflights.
Where practical and affordable, sustainable sourced materials have been specified including Forestry Stewardship (FSC) sourced timber and with more than 80% of the floor finishes being Green Guide A rated.
The new state-of-the-art Inverclyde Academy has also won two prizes in the International Green Apple Awards 2009 http://www.inverclyde.gov.uk/news/2009/jul/inverclyde-academy-wins-global-green-award/