Mitchell Building opens to students

We are thrilled that staff and students have taken occupation of the new Mitchell Building at The Skinners’ School in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The new three-storey building accommodates a new sixth form library, English classrooms and a library that extends into the timber-lined vaulted roof space.

The design has been developed from a careful analysis of the Gothic revival style of the original Victorian school buildings and comprises a design which uses a repeating sawtooth brick detail with a strong emphasis on verticality and repetition, in a similar manner to the existing buttressed hall. The result is an architecture which is both highly contemporary and respectful of its historic context.

The building is cooled by drawing air across the exposed concrete slab at night, while the exposed concrete helps to regulate internal temperatures. MVHR units are used to circulate air during the daytime. Classrooms are dual aspect to maintain good daylight levels.

Mitchell Building opens to students