WaterSHED, Wardle Academy

by BDP

Client Watergrove Trust

Award RIBA North West Award 2024

WaterSHED is the result of a competition to meet the huge demand for more school places within the Rochdale area without resorting to Portakabins. The school wanted to repurpose a dilapidated former sports hall as a test bed for new forms of teaching and learning. Using low tech, low cost and low embodied-carbon materials, the architects have created two new flexible classrooms and a design technology studio orientated around a central informal learning space and café.

A processional staircase and ‘learning steps’ with integrated seating provide overflow dining space and an auditorium for presentations and special event performances. The simple but transformative design has been so successful that what was supposed to be a temporary facility has become a central and integral part of the school’s offering. The project demonstrates how low cost materials deployed with generosity and ingenuity can deliver so much added value.

Read the full citation from the RIBA Awards Jury on RIBA Journal.

Contractor Skyline Property Solution

Environmental / M&E Engineer BDP

Sustainability BDP

Acoustic Engineer BDP

Gross internal area m² 860