Alternative free school learning environment for the Somers Town community.

This project reinvents notions of ‘play’ and ‘learn’ to create more inclusivity in the city. This is accomplished through a design for a free school in Somers Town, London. It provides an alternative learning environment that promotes play, provides parental support facilities and also doubles as a public space for the local community.

Children learn through play. Public playgrounds in London are often designed only with children in mind, while parents and carers rarely have a place for themselves. How can public play spaces be better designed for people of all ages? Through a study of various play-focused progressive pedagogical approaches, design criteria that support the learning and motivation of children are generated from research into educational buildings that use the Reggio Emilia approach.

Using an existing defunct school building and the school network of Somers Town as a test bed, the proposed new school's design and curriculum seeks to reflect Reggio Emilia’s beliefs, while promoting community involvement in education to expand its capabilities and reach. Simultaneously, the scheme recognises the opportunities and potential that the UK ‘free school’ model can provide; this procurement framework is chosen as an unconventional education approach for the greater good of future society.