News

28/04/2020

Two Lungfish school projects shortlisted for Awards

Lungfish Architects are proud to announce that two completed projects, Cotton End Forest School and Hackwood Primary Academy, have both been successful in being shortlisted for the SPACES Awards and Civic Building of the Year.

SPACES (The Society for Public Architecture, Construction, Engineering and Surveying) is a collaborative organisation for those in the building professions who work in and for the public sector. The annual awards are solely dedicated to rewarding excellence, collaboration and innovation in construction projects. They also recognise the importance of collaboration and the role teams play in providing innovative solutions to deliver a project that meets the client brief, timescale, and budget.

Cotton End Forest School - Entrance Building from learning zone

Cotton End Forest School - Meadow View of Learning Pavilions

Cotton End Forest School - Gateway Building Entrance

Cotton End Forest School and Hackwood Primary Academy were both delivered for public sector clients and are both completely different in terms of the approach taken to design and construction. With Cotton End Forest School, we worked closely with the school and council during a series of 12 collaborative engagement sessions to develop the concept of the forest school in turn designing an inspiring learning environment, both inside and out. Built through traditional construction techniques, the project has allowed the school to grow from 100 to 686 pupils. Hackwood Primary Academy on the other hand, was the response to an urgent need to provide school places. The school needed to be open and fully operational for September 2019 so working collaboratively with the council, clients, and developers, we took an offsite approach to the design, submitting planning within four weeks. Just nine months after breaking ground, the school welcomed its first cohort of pupils.

" We are delighted to have two projects shortlisted for the SPACES Awards, Civic Building of the Year and the SPACES Yearbook.Cotton End Forest School is a unique forest school that demonstrates a radical way of learning. The design really captures the client’s vision and it allowed us to shape this forest ‘village’ and bring their ideas to life. The school is an inspirational and exciting environment where children can thrive and enjoy their learning.Hackwood Primary Academy is a great example of combining efficient school design with a 100% modular approach to achieve this concept to completion. By working collaboratively with the client and Morgan Sindall Construction, and utilising our expertise in designing schools, we have been able to create innovative, engaging spaces that will enhance the learning experience for the pupils.

Simon Reid, Managing Director of Lungfish Architects

Hackwood Primary Academy exterior building

Hackwood Primary Academy exterior building v2

Hackwood Primary Academy footage completion

Hackwood Primary Academy classroom corridor

Hackwood Primary Academy drone footage completion angle 2

The winner of the Civic Building of the Year and SPACES Awards are normally announced at the Annual Awards and President’s Dinner, held around October. Due to the unprecedented circumstances of COVID-19, a joint 2020 and 2021 Awards evening will be held next year. We are however, looking forward to hosting the Judges onsite at Cotton End and Hackwood later in the year once travel restrictions are lifted.

Both projects will be featured in the SPACES Yearbook, an annual collection of case studies that promote the best public sector project, and circulated to every Local Authority Chief Executive, Local Authority Property and Education Departments and SPACES members.

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