Spa School, SE1

Client: 4Futures

This is a new-build teaching block for secondary pupils with autistic spectrum disorders, and figures as part of Southwark’s Building Schools for the Future programme. The design process included the development of a long-term masterplan for the campus.
The architects created a new, civic frontage that harmonises the street elevation, bringing together disparate elements of the school estate to provide a fitting image of a contemporary special school. The new building resembles a doughnut, with two floors of four teaching spaces arranged around a top-lit, double-height circulation space. Every general classroom has a distinct form and double aspect to maximise views, natural ventilation and a range of light qualities.