The first challenge was to create a well-choreographed arrival experience for Brighton College parents and students. From the vehicular drop-off to the classroom, the circulation needed to be well planned and to also represent the school brand and ethos. The car drop-off lane has been re-worked, providing additional pedestrian rain canopies at drop off points and giving the Brighton College brand visibility with prominent signage at the arrival lobby and reception.

A key design challenge was the tight fit of the proposed programme of rooms into the existing space. The design needed to facilitate sufficient space for more adaptive areas of ‘break out’ and flexible learning. The existing, traditional floor plan arrangement with enclosed classroom blocks distributed along a central circulation spine was limiting hence the majority of the fixed, full-height partitions were removed, creating a more consistent, continuous ceiling plane, resulting in an open plan environment that allows for maximum flexibility. Space partitioning was achieved via sliding-folding, acoustic partitions and mobile furniture. This design allows the accommodation of classes of various sizes and with varying, customizable degrees of privacy and separation.