FCBStudios’ proposals for Rotherhithe Primary School will transform the existing school’s estate, replacing the exhausted 1970s single storey buildings and expanding the capacity of the school to 630 children plus a 60 place nursery.

The scheme is conceived as ‘a school in a garden’, conceptually extending and capturing the green space and openness of Southwark Park, located opposite, into the school site, to create a stimulating and protected outdoor environment for the children, which the new buildings will frame. The school hall and main entrance will be brought right up to Hawkstone Road to give the school a strong civic identity and physically elevate its status in the community.

Rotherhithe’s history in ship-building, the timber trade and rope making, as well as its Scandinavian connections, have been an inspiration in the design and will be evident in the materials that are used in the building and the landscape.

This is FCBStudios’ second school in Southwark, following The Charter School East Dulwich.