Wimbledon Park Primary School

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.

Wimbledon Park Primary School

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Work

 Wimbledon Park Primary School
Merton, London

Client

London Borough of Merton

The project is a 1FE expansion of an existing 2FE School. A two storey extension was added to the West of the site providing two reception classrooms, a studio hall and a nursery at the ground floor, with 3 classrooms, group rooms and WC’s at first floor.

A single storey extension providing a new staff social room near the schools’ main entrance and admin offices was also part of our proposal. To provide sufficient outdoor space for the new school population; a new early year’s playground and MUGA were constructed in the adjacent recreation ground, which the school have sole use over during the school day.