12 Mar 2008
Hazelwood School Wins Civic Trust Award
Hazelwood, Glasgow's new school for children with duel sensory impairment, has won a prestigious Civic Trust Award.
Hazelwood fosters life skills in children with severe learning difficulties, to help them lead independent lives. The children, who age between 2 and 18, are blind and deaf or have a variety of sight problems. Others have cognitive impairment and physical disability.
Monica McGeever, Hazelwood's headteacher says:
"When our children leave this school, they will not go into jobs or go and live in their own flat or house- they will always need to be supported. Adults who are blind and have learning difficulties can lead passive lives. But the more independence they have, the more choices they will be able to make and the more stimulating their lives will be."
Jane Eyre, the depute head adds:
"One young person, the most cognitively challenged person I've ever met, can now go and eat and go to the toilet by himself. For the rest of his life his dignity will be maintained."
Hazelwood School photos of completed building from gm+ad 28 Sep 2007:
Gordon Murray and Alan Dunlop design special Scottish school: photographed by Andrew Lee
Hazelwood, Glasgow's new school for children with duel sensory impairment, has been shortlisted by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland for the Andrew Doolan Award. The award is for the Best Building in Scotland in 2007 and is the biggest in the UK.
Hazelwood will foster life skills in children with severe learning difficulties, to help them lead independent lives. The children, who age between 2 and 18, are blind and deaf or have a variety of sight problems. Others have cognitive impairment and physical disability. Monica McGeever, Hazelwood's headteacher says:
"When our children leave this school, they will not go into jobs or go and live in their own flat or house- they will always need to be supported. Adults who are blind and have learning difficulties can lead passive lives. But the more independence they have, the more choices they will be able to make and the more stimulating their lives will be."
Jane Eyre, the depute head adds:
"one young person, the most cognitively challenged person I've ever met, can now go and eat and go to the toilet by himself. For the rest of his life his dignity will be maintained."
The school is located in a quiet residential area on the edge of Bellahouston Park and the Dumbreck Conservation Area. The building is conceived in natural free flowing form and meanders through the site respecting it's existing landscape of mature lime and beech trees. Timber is the predominant structural and cladding material was selected for its natural weathering qualities and its character and warmth.
The architects have developed innovative sensory clues throughout their design to help the children orient themselves within the school environment and find their own way to their classrooms.
For gm+ad it is a successful conclusion to an intense four year design, consultation and construction process, involving Glasgow City Council, parents, teachers, clinicians and the children themselves.
Keir Bloomer, former Chief Executive of Clackmannanshire Council, Chairman of the Tapestry Group and renown educationalist, says Hazelwood School.
"if anything, exceeds expectations. There is really so much to admire about it; the way the design is adapted to the site, the choice of materials, the linking of interiors to the exterior and much more. For me the the complexity and avoidance of straight lines ensure constant interest and variety while still maintaining intimacy and human scale. I shall certainly keep on saying to anyone who will listen that it is the most exciting new school building in Scotland".
It is the fourth time in the five years that architects Gordon Murray and Alan Dunlop have been shortlisted for the £25,000 Andrew Doolan Award.
"Our previous shorlisted buildings were all highly succesful commercial projects but this is the most rewarding 'says Alan Dunlop." The Radisson SAS hotel, Sentinel in Glasgow and the John Knox Street Warehouses in Clydebank all won top architecture awards but Hazelwood School is our first public project and our first school to be shortlisted for such a prestigious award"
Hazelwood School - Info
"Following significant consultation with parents, staff and related professional bodies, Glasgow City Council has invested in a unique school for children with additional support needs related to complex and dual sensory impairment. The new Hazelwood school will be situated in the Dumbreck area of the city within the vicinity of Bellahouston Park and will provide custom built facilities for the children and young people who currently attend Kelvin and Carnbooth schools.
Hazelwood School - Images
Progress panoramic photos released 10 May 2007 by gm+ad:
The school has been designed by the award winning architects, Gordon Murray and Alan Dunlop who have worked in close collaboration with the council to achieve this state of the art campus which will provide curricular and life skill facilities form early childhood to adolescence. "It has been designed so that children can be safe and secure while at the same time maximising opportunities for independence" says Alan Dunlop "there is no other school like it in Europe and we can't wait to get started. We have been particularly enthused by the active interest of parents and pupils in the project."
The successful contractor is Sir Robert McAlpine. Alan will present the campus design to architects, teachers, academics, voluntary organisations and other professionals at the major international conference "Making Space:Architecture and Design for Young Children" at the Lighthouse, Scotland.
Hazelwood School : Background info
Progress shots released 28 Mar 2007 by gm+ad:
Hazelwood School: Gordon Murray and Alan Dunlop Architects
link to another gm+ad architects' school project:
Scottish Schools - clackmannanshire
Glasgow : back to index
Hazelwood School concept drawing by Alan Dunlop:
Other Central Belt Schools featured on the sites:
Clackmannanshire School - Duffy & Batt
Clackmannanshire School - Gareth Hoskins
21st Century Scottish Schools - RIAS PR
Glasgow School