dRMM's school for the emerging settlement of Wintringham demonstrates real imagination in maximising the utility of the space and has won the East RIBA Sustainability Award
East RIBA Regional Award 2022
dRMM Architects for Cambridgeshire County Council and Diamond Learning Partnership Trust
Contract value: £11 million
GIA: 3,615m2
Cost per m2: £3,043
This pioneering building is one of the first pieces of social infrastructure to be built at the emerging settlement of Wintringham, an extension to St Neots.
Located directly on the town square, the school creates a bold intervention at the centre of the masterplan, with more community-focused rooms positioned to address this frontage. At the heart of the school is a sheltered internal garden that is visible on entry. This gives each classroom dual aspects onto planted internal and external spaces, and allows cross-ventilation. Around the fringes of the school are outside gardens, playgrounds and enclosed areas, conceived as extensions of the internal teaching spaces.
Judges described the design ‘as demonstrating real imagination in maximising the utility of the space’ and were impressed with its energy consumption, whole-life carbon performance, and the attention paid to biophilic design principles.
See longer review here.
East RIBA Sustainability Award 2022 sponsored by Michelmersh
See the rest of the East winners here
And all the RIBA Regional Awards here