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Architects: Walters & Cohen Architects
- Area: 3000 m²
- Year: 2019
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Photographs:Dennis Gilbert/VIEW
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Manufacturers: Geberit, Kingspan Insulated Panels, Technal, Grohe, Regupol America, Allgood, Cornish concrete, Fermacell, Havwoods, Heckmondwike, Junckers, KLH, Mapei, Nemetschek, Nora, Okalux, Polyflor, Principal doorsets, Solus Ceramics, Thrislington Cubicles, +4
Text description provided by the architects. Walters & Cohen Architects balances industrial heritage with contemporary design at the new International College for The King's School, Canterbury. In 2016, The King’s School in Canterbury asked London-based practice, Walters & Cohen Architects, to undertake a feasibility study for a 1.25-hectare ex-industrial site on the edge of Canterbury’s city centre. The study resulted in an updated masterplan for the site that includes an International College, staff housing, and a sports court with changing facilities. It also included a new drama centre and theatre in the 19th-century Malthouse building, which was undertaken by another practice.
The scheme was granted consent with unanimous support from the City of Canterbury’s planning committee in March 2017. Walters & Cohen Architects developed designs for a three-storey building that wraps around a private courtyard. It was crucial that the new building complemented the site’s industrial heritage as well as the existing buildings surrounding it; achieved with a striking mixture of weathered concrete and glass. The landscape complements and connects the many elements of the site; a civic square shared with the Malthouse is an important focal point of the campus. Domestic gardens bound two other sides of the College building, while, to the north, the new sports court will be used by the College, King's School and local community, creating a diverse and connected school community, integrated with the historic surroundings.
The building comprises 34 ensuite bedrooms with boarding for 80 students, several flats for staff, classrooms, and specialist teaching facilities. The classrooms are fully equipped, flexible places allowing for a mixture of traditional learning, digital research, personal interaction and discussion. The International College teaches students aged 11-16, acting as a stepping-stone for those entering the English school system from abroad.
