Benview Campus, Ruchill Building, Glasgow Architecture, Project

Benview Campus : Ruchill, Glasgow Building

Glaswegian Development – photos by Keith Hunter

26 Nov 2012

Benview Campus Building

Ruchill, Glasgow

Design: Anderson Bell Christie

photos © Keith Hunter

Benview Campus, Ruchill

Anderson Bell Christie’s remit for this project included Project Management & Lead Consultant, architectural design & interior design; access/disability design & audits: acoustics; model making; cad visualisation; landscape design; brief development, community and stakeholder consultation; contract administration.

Ruchill Primary School is part of ‘The Three Primary Schools’ project for Glasgow City Council and is located on a highly visible (and challenging) elevated site in Ruchill Park in Glasgow. Like many parks in Britain the popularity of such spaces has waxed and waned over the years; at present, along with other cities, Glasgow is rediscovering these important parks and beginning to appreciate the huge asset they represent. Anderson Bell Christie’s design for Ruchill Primary therefore explores new ways of inhabiting and using the existing Victorian park to meet the needs of modern city living.

The new school combines denominational and non-denominational primary schools, a pre-five facility and a special needs unit for autistic children. The primary roll will be 507, the nursery 61, and the special needs unit 24. In addition, shared community facilities will be provided including a new artificial football pitch. The site is very prominently located with views across Glasgow. It is adjacent to an ecologically sensitive landscape and considerable early design work and consultation was carried out in order to secure planning consent.

The building has a linear design which provides east/west orientation to minimise overheating, while still allowing the dining area to enjoy the spectacular views to the south. All classrooms face west onto a linear play area where an existing tree belt has been utilised for shelter. The many challenges of developing the site included accessing the site through the park and adjacent land as well as responding to the high voltage power-lines passing through the site.

The building is configured to meet the Curriculum for Excellence by the creation of varied and flexible learning environments.