Emmanuel Church of England Primary School lies in the heart of West Hampstead, in the vibrant London Borough of Camden. They serve the whole community and have always aimed to provide their pupils with a happy and stimulating place to learn – values we wanted to embody in their landscape.
In collaboration with Hawkins\Brown architects, Max Fordham and Elliot Wood engineers, BD worked on the redevelopment of Emmanuel’s existing site to provide an Early Years Foundation Unit, alongside this brand new one-form entry primary school. This was funded as a joint project between Camden and the London Diocesan Board for Schools.
We loved engaging with the existing school community, and extensive consultation with students and staff gave us a clear direction to develop the external spaces.
Our designs focused on the landscape as a part of the learning and educational environment, with flexible external spaces that would cater for multiple groups from individual classes to outdoor assemblies, and everything in between. Our proposals also make use of the existing level change, with terraces dividing the grounds into different play uses – perfect for games and learning. The finished landscape has subtle learning weaved throughout.
The colourful terrace at the heart of the school teaches children the rainbow colours and acts as an exciting focal point for gathering. Outdoor classrooms, productive ‘edible’ gardens, green walls and a Multi-Use Games Area were also incorporated within our designs.
The design has also enhanced the ecological value of the site, with new habitats – including native climbing plants, trees, hedges and species-rich edible garden – tailored to the local biodiversity action plan.
