The new Performance Arts Studio at Alfriston day and boarding School for Girls in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire has a double height space creating a light and spacious building designed to offer flexibility in its use. Alongside performances for audiences of up to 150 people, the hall serves as a primary teaching space in the disciplines of dance, music and drama, as well as providing a large space for assemblies and school events. The new building will also house rehearsal rooms, dance studios, editing suites and classroom facilities.
The foyer space provides a link between the existing gym and the new performing arts studio. There is a new arrival area for visitors as well as a waiting space for pupils using the teaching spaces. The foyer has been designed as a double height space and a semi-open stair forms the centrepiece for the space. The staircase has been designed to spill out and provide seating wrapping around it.
The services design is focussed on providing comfortable learning environments. The Studio’s air handling unit provides plenty of fresh air during assemblies and performances, while openable rooflights allow natural ventilation to save energy when fewer people are in the space. The incoming air is passed through a heat exchanger which improves the building’s energy efficiency in winter.
The external envelope materials have been carefully chosen to tonally complement the existing palette of render and brick whilst creating a distinctive tactile façade, which uses recycled glass aggregate for added visual interest and lower embodied carbon.
The landscape design reflects the aspiration to create a new defined surface, forming a connective route between the main School building and the new performing arts studio building, as well as a congregational space in front of the entrance into the new building, marked by a beautiful tree that softens the space and provides a focal point for meeting.
