General Introduction to Project
North Ayrshire Council were proponents for a unique project where its in house architects worked in close collaboration with artists, building users and other professionals in the design and realisation of a new concept in primary school building. The project started in 1998 culminating in the building of a new primary school in Dalry, North Ayrshire. This is a unique building, embodying the concept of imbedded intelligence in the very design and fabric of its construction.
The school is conceived as a learning prototype, offering multiple opportunities to engage with different organisational and teaching methods, utilising or modifying the facilities and spaces. It does not impose directions or solutions, but offers them as options and developments.
The Council aimed to create a new language of learning - projecting ideas, concepts and data through the fabric of the new school building. The architecture is developed through a "geometry of information", routes tell stories, layout suggest systems of measurement and specific spatial relationships inform about local and global environments. Facts, figures, phrases and fables have been incorporated into the structure and include historical "site specific" text and information.
The school is included as a case study as the design solution provides an innovative approach to internal spaces, and the project also demonstrates the value of extensive consultation with users during the development of the design brief.