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Riba Education forum - recessionary trends
- 1. RIBA SCHOOLS CLIENT FORUM Recessionary Trends in School Design & Construction By Dr. Christopher French PhD.,Dip Arch., RIBA. architects4education
- 2. THE IMPORTANCE OF SOUND RESEARCH “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” Albert Einstein
- 3. REAL RESEARCH INTO THE HISTORY OF SCHOOL DESIGN PhD thesis (pub 1996) looking at primary school design in conservative controlled L.A. over the previous 20 year period 147 primary schools studied 25 in depth Interviews with range of staff Staff completed 100 part questionnaire & scored Interviews with design teams, educationalists and past members of staff Research into 21 small scale offsite extensions to schools in Eastern Region (pub 2006)
- 5. DRAMATIC REDUCTION IN SPACE STANDARDS Periods of cuts in public expenditure
- 6. SPACE STANDARDS Small teaching area Open plan with no dedicated circulation Reduced storage No specialist spaces
- 7. SPACE STANDARDS Typical crowded open plan class base of a recession school
- 8. SPACE STANDARDS Reduced space for coats and storage in a recession school
- 9. SPACE STANDARDS Very little pure circulation in a recession school
- 10. QUALITY STANDARDS Poor quality deep plan internal environment Poor quality materials requiring expensive maintenance Poor quality external works Poor quality quality furniture and equipment
- 11. QUALITY STANDARDS Poor quality daylight, acoustics and ventilation in deep plan schools
- 12. QUALITY STANDARDS The use of poor quality materials leading to expensive maintenance
- 13. QUALITY STANDARDS Featureless external environment at a recession school
- 14. PARSIMONY CAN BECOME A WAY OF LIFE “I don’t care how much it cost as long as it looks cheap” – Deputy County Architect
- 15. OFF SITE SYSTEM BUILDING - MCB Economies of scale only worked for simple box like plans Costs increased dramatically if designers produced special designs to suit site demands Local planners/individual schools disliked its bland appearance and inflexibility The economics failed as the programme of investment dropped during recessionary periods and traditional build became significantly cheaper
- 16. OFF SITE SYSTEM BUILDING - MCB Typical box like MCB school with added features
- 17. OFF SITE SYSTEM BUILDING – SMALL SCALE EXTENSIONS Research for 4 Eastern Region LAs 21 Case studies 9 different systems Cost can be 10% cheaper than traditional build Total programme time no different from traditional build Onsite operations can be a challenge M&E can be a challenge Clients suffered from poor communications Clients need to think carefully and weigh up pros and cons before choosing off site construction
- 18. OFF SITE SYSTEM BUILDING – SMALL SCALE EXTENSIONS Timber frame Concrete panel Steel frame Timber panel
- 19. CONCLUSIONS We need to use the experience of past recessions to argue for limits to the present reduction in standards We cannot prove the positive effect of good design on future education performance standards but we can probably prove the negative effects of poor quality schools in the past There must be many schools, out there, living with a school built during a recession. They are struggling with the effects of reduced standards and they could help make the case Off site construction will not necessarily deliver reduced cost over traditional build particularly for smaller extensions We need to invest in proper research now if we are to have the facts available for the next recession architects4education
Editor's Notes
- The architectural profession is traditionally poor at in vesting in research although some schools of architecture are starting to see the light. We will regret this when another recession hits and we have no proof that good design is a good investment
- This is not just opinion but based on real accredited research into real projects built on real sites with real clients, budgets and programmes.
- Investment in construction in the UK has suffered from the economic cycle since the beginning of the last century and it still continues. We should learn what this means for investment in schools and try to ameliorate the worst effects
- The area per place in schools dropped dramatically during periods of recession as government invested less and clients tried to make their limited funds go further. They continued to drop however even as we came out of recession due to misplaced parsimony. Local government had always had to top up central government funding but it was not possible to bridge the gap
- The reduced area of schools had a direct impact on their operation. This was not always obvious at first as many new schools were built in response to rising roles and the schools were not full for several years, They are now and it would be interesting to talk to the head teachers of these schools about the problems they have faced from overcrowding
- This slide shows the effect of overcrowding clearly
- Ancillary spaces such as toilets, cloakrooms and storage were unduly squeezed so as to make them almost unworkable.
- The tight, open plan teaching spaces had very little pure circulation area and any movement of pupils caused immense disruption to teaching and learning.
- Reduced capital investment led to questionable choices creating a poor teaching environment and high maintenance. Space, quality and budget are linked and you cannot reduce one without affecting the other two.
- How can you teach and learn in such a poor environment caused by ’economic’ deep plan arrangements?
- The use of painted render on the outside, emulsion painted plaster finishes on the inside, lightweight plasterboard partitions, low plasterboard ceilings, and softwood joinery may reduce initial capital cost but can burden the school with huge maintenance costs in the long run.
- The external works budget is always the first to be raided when the project cost is under pressure but this produces a soulless learning environment externally where pupils spend almost 40% of their time at school
- Parsimony tends to get out of control if you are not careful with those who control the budget becoming more concerned by appearances rather than value for money and a stimulating and effective learning environment. The senior member of staff producing this quote had to show elected members around this new school and felt he could not defend the use of this fine and appropriate light fitting.
- I have lived through many manifestations of off-site system building and have yet to see any real benefits, given the challenges of real school briefs and real sites.
- Project architects struggled to use the concrete panel system economically other than by using a simple deep rectangular plan, I managed to created some interest by introducing relatively cheap traditional add-ons and good landscaping for this project
- This project was prompted by LAs faced by salesmen from Off-site manufacturers trying to ‘sell’ their products to individual schools with exaggerated claims of huge savings in time and cost, I looked at the experience of real projects with real clients on real sites and discovered that these claims could not be substantiated for the small scale projects that we are likely to see over coming years. Report ‘Prefabricated Schools’ (pub 2006) available from Landsdown publishing
- The research covered many different types of off-site construction methods with the concrete panel performing best
- We need to find large architectural practices and construction firms who are prepared to invest in proper research into the effects of recession of school construction standards. We also need to insist that all school building projects have honest and frank post completion reports to record the effect of budget pressures.