scabal: st. elizabeth catholic primary school

st elizabeth schoolhouse by scabal all photos by jun keung cheung

UK-based architectural firm scabal has recently completed an ‘after school club’ house in the south east part of the playground of st. elizabeth catholic primary school, bethnal green, UK. the school house replaced an existing one made of portakabins, as part of the school’s vision for change.

the structure is a stand-alone 144m2 building within the existing school located close enough to one of the entrances in the main facade so it can be easily used by the local community as well as the school’s community. although its main purpose is to be used as an ‘after school club’, it is also the school’s intention that it is used as a parents’ evening gathering room, a training room and an extra classroom when required. it should make the most of its direct connection with the external play area allowing the design to become a fluid indoor /outdoor space. it was designed as part of a series of inhabitable objects that will populate the school’s site. in connection with the concept for the playground, the school’s realm should be perceived as a small village with different buildings and spaces that serve specific purposes.

one of the entrances

by acting like a small house in the playground, its appearance and scale also neatly reflect the forms of the surrounding terraced dwellings. its distorted trapezoidal footprint with a slanted timber clad pitched roof will house an open plan room, where many different activities can take place simultaneously. on the southwest corner, a large sliding door will allow the building to open up to the playground dissolving the boundary between indoor and outdoor play. the building will appear to be a mostly hermetic form with the glazed corner and the generous roof light creating a special ambiance to the indoor space. internally, the school house’s open plan will be inhabited by a core space containing all the requested facilities (toilet, disabled toilet, kitchenette and small office space). analogous with a colorful pile of toy building blocks, these rooms will be located underneath the roof light. above it there will be a small mezzanine space, with a view to the mail room, for quiet play and story telling.