AMERICAN RED OAK PODS FOR NORTHAMPTON BOYS SCHOOL

Mighty oaks from little acorns grow, or in this case, red oaks from architectural “pods” planted by Peter Haddon & Partners for Northampton School for Boys.

Php needed to design a new building which addressed existing problems of congestion, lack of accessibility, and dilapidation of an old 1964 refectory at Northampton School for Boys as well as providing new classrooms and other facilities for an existing school which had developed ad-hoc with no clear master-plan.

Now completed, the Concourse & Teaching Block project was conceived as a whole school learning environment to provide 16 new classrooms, a refectory / performance / conference / assembly space, ‘team-base’ offices (secondary subject-related staff rooms), Sixth Form accommodation, a shop and WCs. No matter how well students behave, a school environment is a harsh test of materials and their durability, and the school has always stressed the importance in the selection of materials and finishes for their buildings. Having been first introduced to red oak ten years ago and with a decade of proven use, php had no hesitation in again recommending American red oak as the unifying element for the new Concourse building. Each of the “events” then needed a personality of their own through detail. The ‘team-base’ pod is like a seed pod that has segments and scales. The Sixth Form pod is ship-lapped horizontally in a way that causes the panels to step-out and form a boat-like hull overhanging the atrium. The “orange peel stair” twists and moves from straight to curved with vertical slats like a paper doily case, whilst the shop is more refined. The cladding to the pods, stairs, door sets, architraves, skirtings, shop fitting, the Deputy Head Master’s storage wall, classroom coat & bag racks, balcony cappings and the DNA pattern to the balcony fronts, in honour of NSB former student Francis Crick – the discoverer of DNA, are all also red oak.

“We have always loved the rich colour of American red oak and particularly the bold ‘flamey’ grain of the crown cut veneer,” says pHp project architect Mark Pennington. “It proved to be robust, durable, sustainable and a delight to behold.”

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