ICT Suite design and drama studio refurbishment for Ursuline Prep School.
Ursuline Prep School in Wimbledon asked Fusion Classroom design to create an eye-catching ICT suite classroom, and to remodel an under-used drama space to create a drama studio with school theatre capabilities. Two diverse and interesting challenges to improve dedicated teaching spaces.
Phase 1. ICT Suite design
Phase 1 was the design for the ICT suite. With a smaller class size of 20 the scope to design an imaginative ICT classroom had greater possibilities in a 7.5m square room. Even adding the dual-purpose role of a seating area for the very young students didn’t compromise the design opportunity.
The result is a layout of two concentric semi-circles for the ICT furniture. The outer arc has a centre access break allowing the teacher to quickly move around the spaces, and more routes for children to flow into the classroom.
A tiered floor was achieved by adding a raised floor system to the outer zone.
The centre cushioned seating bench is a lovely way to soften the first impression, as well as a focused and inviting area for the 4/5 year olds. By adding the centre bench seat you’re bringing the children away from the fixed computer hardware.
Phase 2. Drama Studio and School Theatre Design
The drama studio refurbishment was an equally challenging design. The room was a large single story building split by a folding wall. It wasn’t working as a drama studio as the spatial proportions felt wrong, primarily due to the low ceiling. The refurbishment scheme lifted the ceiling height without changing the roof itself. This was achieved by adding new steel trusses to then remove most of the low joists, and lift the ceiling. Simple to write, very involved to design and construct. Structural engineering was carried out by the Fusion team, and involved cranked steel trusses to support the pitched roofs. Pictures show the new steel and timber ceiling including the flitch beams supporting the higher roof apex.
The drama studio refurb scheme has the space as dual purpose. Teaching space for the majority of the time this double classroom also serves as a school theatre for school productions. Audio Visual cabling was installed during the ceiling works. This supports sound-mixing and theatre lighting capabilities. The colour-change lighting over the stage space can be controlled from several points in the room. Steroe speakers with mic pickups gives a decent level of sound control when used with a detachable mixing unit.
Theatre back-drop curtains complete the transformation. Portable staging is mainly used for tiered seating but can equally be used for a raised stage. And most of the time is stored away to leave a double sized studio. The building had two sets of patio doors already fitted during the original 2013 build, which makes for great access when 40 -50 parents are seated for a performance. The transformation has turned a previously under-used space into a real asset. Adding 750mm of extra ceiling height has worked wonders.
