Cherry Orchard National School

PROJECT:

Cherry Orchard National School

ARCHITECT:

O’Donnell & Tuomey

CLIENT:

Townlink Construction

SECTOR:

Joinery, Education

Supply and fit of internal and external joinery in FSC Angelim Pedra including,

  • Large bespoke screens,
  • Inward and outward opening windows and doors,
  • Large bespoke curved screens

The location of this primary school for 500 children is in a large suburban housing area with few facilities, where social deprivation is widespread. Welfare facilities and an after school care unit have been incorporated in the brief. This is a pilot project for the Department of Education and Science – a new type of school which will play a wider role in the local community and is open all day.

The building takes the form of a school within a walled garden planted with cherry orchards. The school is arranged between a series of courtyards within a high brick garden wall. The brick wall provides shelter and protection to the school and the outdoor play areas, whilst giving the building a strong architectural form on the site. All of the accommodation is two storeys high and the classrooms open on to the garden/playgrounds.
The vaulted concrete roofscape with projecting rainwater gutters reinforce the distinctive form of the building, deterring unauthorised access to the roofs.