Background
St Bede’s Catholic College is part of the Diocese of Clifton and serves students from Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and North Somerset. The new Sixth Form building was designed to provide an inspiring and contemporary learning environment to accommodate the school’s growing demand for post 16 educational places.
Design
Externally, the drum-shaped structure has an octagonal brick base wrapped in timber cladding, aluminium-framed glazing, and is capped with a generous roof overhang. The material palette complements the nearby existing red-brick buildings, and completes the sixth form cluster.
Technical
Construction is celebrated externally and internally as timber wraps around the octagonal form on the outside and glulam beams and services are elegantly exposed on the inside. Durable finishes at the accessible first and second level provide acoustic comfort, whilst the open-plan layout supports flexible use, enabling a dynamic social and learning environment.
Client: St Bede’s Catholic College
Designed by: Ben Smith, George Batterham
Built by: Speller Metcalfe