The Scottish Government

Client's Perspective

The main aim of the project was to create a fully customised school to address the educational and developmental needs of the children and young people who will attend by providing a supportive, secure and stimulating environment which will enable the young people to achieve their full potential.

This was achieved by ensuring the brief was drawn up in full consultation with staff from both schools, school boards, parent bodies, health services and relevant voluntary bodies.

The staffing model for the new school was created to reflect the required balance between teaching, support and care staff.

Architect's Perspective

GM & AD Architects were chosen as the design team from a competition involving 6 other practices. It is the architect's view that in some ways it helped not having worked on a school before, as the design team had to think through problems and not just replicate what had been done before.

The vision was to create a centre of excellence for the education and the development of 'life skills' amongst children and young adults with multiple and severe impairments. It was important to provide an environment that would cater for the education of children with a wide and varied range of cognitive impairments including hearing, sight and mobility.

The consultation period was very important as some of the parents of the former schools were reluctant to relocate. During the process it was important to manage expectations and present information in a non-architectural way and as a result parents and the local community were brought into the process at an early stage. The local community now benefits from the use of the meeting rooms and sports facilities.

Users' Perspective

Staff and pupils' parents were consulted widely throughout the development of the project. Questionnaires were sent out to all members of staff asking for input on specific issues (e.g. room set-up equipment etc) and more general aspirations.

The new Head Teacher was utilised by the design team as a consultant on both large scale and detail design decisions, which benefitted the final design. An example of this was the inclusion and location of a large number of floor sockets which allows the flexible use of space and prevents the cluttering of cables.

The pupils and teachers are enthusiastic about the spaces within the new school which are flexible to the different needs of the pupils. The floor markings, the difference in acoustics with varied ceiling heights, the trail wall and the print, Braille, moon and graphical signage all help pupils with navigation. The pupils mentally map the external spaces, using the sensory features and the variety of different textures such as, grass, gravel, woodchip, the decking and even the sound of the traffic. Every aspect of the school sounds and smells distinctive which supports the young people in their navigation around the school campus.

General Evaluation of Building

Relocating and amalgamating any school can be problematic for pupils, teachers and parents alike, but when children with dual sensory impairment are to be relocated from a familiar to an unfamiliar environment, the consultation process is paramount. The result is a school that responds to the landscape of its small corner of Bellahouston Park by nestling close to the ground and winding its way through the existing trees to be as sympathetic as possible while making a significant architectural statement.

Both internally and externally, the materials selected are as natural as possible, for a variety of reasons. Externally they are selected to complement the park landscape and to make reference to the slate roofed sandstone houses in the adjacent terrace.

Internally, the finishes are both natural and textured to reflect the fact that the users (in the main)rely on sense of smell and touch to navigate. This extends to the cork corridor wall that assists navigation through 'trailing', and the fact that the sunspace leading from the lower to the upper school is lined in slate, which delineates change of space through a change in material, but also, by virtue of the materials' ability to absorb solar energy, the slate wall also results in a change of temperature.

It is not only the choice of materials that render this building sensitive to its users needs. The classrooms are located to the cooler north side, where light levels remain even throughout the day, and are colour coded to assist navigation - nursery (yellow), primary (red) and secondary (maroon). All classrooms have dedicated adjacent toilets and in some cases discrete observation spaces which double as 'cool down areas' - all of which maximise attempts to conserve pupils' dignity and independence wherever possible.

Each classroom has instant access to the gardens, and - typical of the enthusiasm displayed by everyone at Hazelwood - the intention is that pupils and staff will now use this space to develop their own vegetable and herb garden.

Lessons Learned

Hazelwood is an exceptional school in terms of the range of additional support needs which it addresses. The interior of the school aims to maximise young peoples' independence and provide an optimum learning environment which ensures a secure but highly stimulating educational experience for all pupils.

The school is barrier free thereby minimising the challenge to pupils in terms of an obstructive physical environment. The inclusion of a house on the campus is an essential component of the young peoples' development as it provides a domestic environment for the pupils to progress their independent living skills.

The design team consider that the 's' shape of the building reduces the perceived scale of the school and makes it less intimidating and more welcoming to the small children attending. The shape creates a series of small scaled, intimate, internal and external spaces. The application of a sensitive design approach has ensured that the school does not suffer from an institutional appearance and this is a key message for consideration in future projects.

Keir Bloomer, former Chief Executive of Clackmannanshire Council, Chairman of the Tapestry Group and renowned educationalist, says Hazelwood School "if anything, exceeds expectations. There is really so much to admire about it; the way the design is adapted to the site, the choice of materials, the linking of interiors to the exterior and much more. For me the complexity and avoidance of straight lines ensure constant interest and variety while still maintaining intimacy and human scale. I shall certainly keep on saying to anyone who will listen that it is the most exciting new school building in Scotland"

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