Oasis Academy Arena

If there’s one thing we’ve learned makes better buildings, it’s empathy. Architecture never happens in isolation—and simply by being interested and engaged, we’ve found it’s possible to open up the conversations that connect a scheme to its clients and community.

We believe that the more constraints there are, the better the architecture. If there aren’t any constraints, we create them. Challenging sites, existing buildings and complex briefs almost always present incredible opportunities for great design.

To limit our environmental impact, we start with what is already there. By manipulating the form and fabric of a building—whether new or existing—we can work with the existing conditions of topography, light and orientation, and harness the natural energy sources offered by air, ground and water.

If a site’s constraints guide the bigger design decisions, then it’s empathy that informs the smaller, social details. These details frame the human narratives that aren’t included in the brief, anticipating specific moments in the users’ lives.

Good architecture is as much about what happens on the building site as it is about what’s on the drawing board. By working alongside contractors as well as clients we can ring-fence the ideas and details that matter, championing quality and sustainability throughout construction.

Oasis Academy Arena

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Work

Oasis Academy Arena
Croydon, London

Client

London Borough of Croydon

Oasis Academy Arena is a mixed, fully inclusive, non-selective secondary school in the south London Borough of Croydon, open to students of any faith or none, and we are unswervingly dedicated to serving our children, our families, and our local community. This new secondary school, with pupils between 11-16 years old, focuses on sport and science. The school opened in September 2015 in the former Oasis Academy Ryelands site and moved to its new home in September 2016. The school takes in around 180 new students annually and it has grown to full capacity in September 2019.

This is a key part of Croydon's Olympic legacy, with the school's location adjacent to Croydon Arena Athletics track allows it to benefit from partnerships with local sports organisations. The school's sponsor is Oasis Community Learning, which already runs three academies in Croydon. The Oasis team have proud track record of managing Ofsted Outstanding schools across the country whose levels of progress for students rank among the top 5% in the country.