top of page
1/1
Location: Northwood, Hertfordshire
Client: Merchant Taylors' School
Value: £5m
Merchant Taylors Masterplan
In 2010, ArchitecturePLB was invited to participate in a RIBA Competition for a new Design Centre for the school. However in assessing the site proposed for the new building we identified a number of conflicts within the wider campus, in particular between pedestrians and vehicles.
As part of our competition submission we therefore took the radical decision to suggest relocating the new building. By so doing we created space for a new perimeter road that would reroute vehicles away from the centre of the site to allow discrete and safe access. The perimeter road would link a number of existing and new carparking areas and allow deliveries to the rear of the site including the school’s maintenance department and main kitchen.
This proposal led the school to commission of us a comprehensive 20-year masterplan, carried out in advance of progressing the Design Centre. Following a school-wide engagement process, we developed a seven-phase proposal that sought to rationalise and consolidate teaching departments, address shortfalls in provision, and establish three major opportunity areas for future development.
The masterplan sets out how improved organizational arrangements can be achieved through a phased program of refurbishment and some new build. A carefully considered decant and phasing strategy means that the improvements can be implemented with the minimum of disruption.
As well as helping the school to plan its long-term investment strategy, the masterplan also proved invaluable in negotiating planning consents in a very sensitive setting which includes listed buildings within the Metropolitan Green Belt.
Having now delivered the first three phases of construction, the masterplan remains a living document, providing a framework for development while adjusting to meet the school’s changing needs and priorities.
Project Team
To find out more about this project, please make contact.
Similar Projects
bottom of page