Central Foundation Boys' School

Islington, Greater London

Civic Trust Awards Citation

The transformation of a disjointed and outdated school campus into a cohesive, accessible, and sustainable educational environment is a remarkable achievement in the redevelopment of this 150-year-old site, demonstrating how thoughtful architecture and design can overcome complex challenges, creating spaces that serve the needs of the community while enhancing the overall urban fabric. 

The existing school, composed of seven buildings with diverse histories, including a former Tabernacle Chapel and listed County Court, presented a fragmented campus around an un-loved central courtyard. The phased redevelopment rationalised and consolidated the accommodation, allowing for more efficient use of the structures while ensuring the school remained operational. The very sophisticated and disarmingly effortless result is a harmonious blend of new and refurbished spaces, intelligently designed to address complex level changes, integrate listed buildings of different species, and a range of urban negotiations. The addition of three new buildings consolidates the perimeter. 

The new subterranean sports hall, a feat of engineering within a constrained site, reconfigures the now beautifully planted and uplifting central courtyard, turning it into a well-utilised space which serves as a focal point for the school community. The entrance, marked by a grand yet welcoming trabeated bronze-coloured metal frame, seamlessly connects with the surrounding urban context. The repetition of the trabeated frame motif in brick within the courtyard establishes visual continuity, creating a sense of connectedness across the site. Legacy issues such as poor access and unfit spaces as well as 17 changes of level across the site have been effectively addressed, with new stairs, lifts, and ramps enabling the school for the first time to function as a unified whole. This achievement is particularly commendable given the complex nature of the existing buildings and the inherent challenges of the site. There is no sign of the tight budget constraints, with high quality finishes which are simple, robust, and unassuming, presenting a unified and coherent aesthetic across the campus. 

The extensive engagement with local community groups, the school community, as well as with external interested parties such as Historic England and the Department for Education, is evident throughout. As part of their partnership with the design team, students had opportunities to participate in work experience placements, careers talks and site visits with the architects, keeping staff and students up-to-speed on construction progress and providing insights into key milestones for the project. The school is actively engaged in supporting the local community, who have access to the new facilities through lettings and out-of-hours use. Students have a real sense of pride about their school and the academic performance of the school reflects this

Judges’ Comments: “This is a high-quality scheme which really ticks all the boxes. The seamless integration of new and existing structures, coupled with a focus on accessibility and urban enhancement, makes this school redevelopment a model for revitalising educational spaces in a holistic and community-centric manner.”