Blog : Spatial Design

Our Kemp Hospice design and build project is close to completion. For the last four months we have been building a new wing at the Kemp Hospice site in Kidderminster. Working very closely with patients, staff and carers we have designed and built a collection of spaces that balance design and functionality and add quality to life.

As always our design process was inspired by nature and we have blended our architecture with the natural environment to create a harmonious relationship between the indoors and outdoors. The simplicity of the scheme has taken patience, care and creativity to achieve and after a long Winter, it is great to see the sun out as the end of the project approaches.

On 18^th October we opened the doors to The Crystal, Kingsland Primary’s fantastic new 21^st century learning space to the whole community. To celebrate this innovative new building that blends unique architecture with cutting edge technology, the children at Kingsland created a Festival of Light, and expressed all their creativity to make the opening an unforgettable event.

Inspired by light, Key Stage 2 fashioned some eye-catching clay and paper lanterns to decorate the building, produced and performed heart-warming Haiku poems, the school choir, led by Mr Linley, performed a beautiful rendition of the classic ‘You Raise Me Up’  and the children demonstrated their culinary skills decorating 400 cupcakes, all of which contributed and brought a personal touch to the opening.

The unveiling of The Crystal brought together children, parents, teachers, governors and the local community together to celebrate and enjoy Kingsland Primary’s new 21^st century learning space, with attendance surpassing 700 people.

The Festival of Light was topped off with a stunning firework display that lit up the night sky and was a spectacular closing ceremony to a fantastic evening of celebrations for opening of The Crystal.

Sara Goddard, Head Teacher st Kingsland Primary said ” This has a wonderful evening that brought us all together and we are absolutely delighted with our new building, we are committed to innovation through creativity and this project is an embodiment of our ethos, long may we walk in the light!”

We are looking forward to this Friday’s launch of The Crystal building at Kingsland Primary School where our innovative 21st century classroom will be showcased. We are having a great time this week supporting the children as they plan the event and create wonderful lanterns for the official opening which will feature a fantastic festival of light!

Just before the end of last term we handed over our latest design and build project which was the Eco Lodge at Woodlands Primary School, Telford. The project was completed ahead of schedule and the scheme will enable children, teachers, parents and the wider community to enjoy outdoor learning and use the lodge as a base for a wide range of creative learning activities.

“Universal Learning have exceeded all of our expectations and we’re absolutely delighted with our beautiful new building, we were also particularly impressed with the way they involved children, staff and parents in every step of the process.”

John Demmerling, Headteacher

You might have seen a previous post about Hercules the Hippo Parallax being installed at Hurst Hill Primary School. Well, we’re pleased to announce the completion of the innovative sculpture. Hercules only ‘appears’ from a designated viewing point as you can see from the photos. One angle reveals the head of Hercules and another shows the side profile of the Hippo.

We worked alongside Year 1 at Hurst Hill Primary on a literacy project that created the ‘Hercules the Hippo’ book for young readers. The adventures of Hercules has also inspired a creative outdoor learning parallax installation that will encourage innovative maths based education for KS1.

The parallax uses sustainable timber and presents an enlarged version of Hercules that offers a multitude of opportunities for enriching the curriculum and making learning fun and  as exciting as possible. Hercules only ‘appears’ from a designated viewing point adding to the magic of this innovative installation. We are hoping to finish the work next week and have Hercules ready and waiting for the new academic year.

Fresh from the success of building and opening the Eco Lodge at Woodlands Primary School we are straight on to our next challenge this time based in Stoke-on-Trent at Kingsland Primary School. With planning permission approved and an opening date set for September 20th 2013 it looks like it will be a busy Summer for Universal Learning whilst the teachers are away having a well deserved break.

All being well the school will return in the new academic year with a learning space that staff, children, parents and the wider community can make full use of. As you can see in the plans below The Crystal will be positioned next to another of our Learning Spaces, The Phoenix which saw an aeroplane transformed into a 21st Century classroom.

We will be posting more photos online so watch this space!

Year 4 children from Woodlands Primary worked with our artistic team and created a new book which in turn inspired a beautiful new sculpture. The sculpture occupies pride of place at the back of the school and is an inspirational symbol for the values of the school including collaboration, aspirations and friendship.

‘The Crystal’ is a building that will be the base for the EMPOWER Young Entrepreneurs project at Kingsland Primary School. The school is located in one of the most disadvantaged areas in the UK and our mission is to raise aspirations in children and support them as they aim high and achieve their fullest potential. Children will be able to work alongside supportive adults to devise and develop ideas and products for the 21st Century and by creating a product and taking it to market, they will learn and develop a set of skills that will Empower them for life.

All monies raised through the London to Paris Bike Ride will be used on this project.

We have been working with Year 4 children at Woodlands Primary and have had a fantastic time alongside the teachers and children exploring ways to take learning outdoors. Children have created a story called The Birthday Wish (that you can download for FREE here) that has inspired a series of potential designs by them for installations and sculpture that will inspire creative outdoor learning. They really engaged in the process and this video gives you a brief glimpse into the great fun, the learning and smiles that we all shared over recent weeks.

Project Summary
We are building an Eco Lodge at Woodlands Primary as a base for Forest School and outdoor learning activities. The centre will enable teachers and children to enjoy a wide range of learning experiences that enrich all aspects of the curriculum.
 
As part of the project we have been consulting with Year 4 about how we can link the Lodge, which is located at the front of the main school building with the rear of the school site, which is the vista enjoyed by most of the classrooms.
We started by exploring the values and ethos of the school and what skills and attributes are needed to become a successful 21^st Century Learner. The children participated in lots of creative learning exercises (including Circus Skills as brain gym and Tai Chi and Reflexology as confidence and team building) and as a result started to make a story inspired by the school mascot (an Owl) that reflected the values of the school they considered the most important.

The characters from the story inspired 2 & 3D modelling and a collection of designs that could become the sculptural installations that are the focus of the outdoor learning. We introduced and used a variety of digital creativity tools such as filmmaking, green screen, animation, podcasting to support the consultation and learning process. The children explored and selected site locations and shared ideas for social and learning spaces that would be inspirational for children of all ages, teachers and parents.

The next steps will see the completion of the foundations and Eco Lodge enter its on site construction phase. We will also produce a series of final designs for the outdoor learning installations for the consideration of the school community and timeline this work for completion after the Easter break. Exciting times are ahead!