3 August 2010
Design Engine has won an invited competition to design a new chemistry building for Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey. The competition involved five architects in total: Design Engine; Hopkins Architects; Panter Hudspith, Belsize Architects and Pringle Richards Sharratt Architects.
The project is seen as an opportunity to reconstruct a very damaged and poorly utilised part of the the main Gothic campus which was originally built in 1872. The new two storey building will contain 6 new laboratories, three on each floor along with preparation areas and staff offices. The northern elevation which faces the principle entrance approach to the school is dominated by 3 stone chimneys which house the chemical flues from the laboratories. In contrast the southern façade faces into the main campus introducing a two storey colonnade providing a new external pedestrian route at ground floor and first floor access to the classrooms whilst offering solar protection to the building.
