“Excellent” new Torbay primary school buildings win architectural award-image-1
“Excellent” new Torbay primary school buildings win architectural award-image-2
“Excellent” new Torbay primary school buildings win architectural award-image-3

“Excellent” new Torbay primary school buildings win architectural award

The recently completed Ellacombe Foundation Unit, has scooped a highly sought after Building Excellence award.

The project has won the 2012 Building Excellence Award for Best Education Project in the south-west regional heats of the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Awards. Ellacombe Foundation Unit will now go forward to represent the south-west at a national level, with the overall winner being announced in November.

The school was redeveloped in direct response to a changing role and other challenges, including the need to enable contemporary teaching and learning practices and techniques for both Nursery and Foundation aged youngsters.

The £0.6m independent structure, commissioned by Torbay council, has a large double-height, open-plan teaching and learning area with a direct canopied connection to a walled ‘or secret’ garden.

A large mezzanine area houses the Early Years Resource area and is directly connected to the adjoining Lower School Block, which will be built in the second phase.

Kay Elliott was commissioned to design the project following its appointment to Torbay Council’s £85 million local development framework, a multi-sector portfolio of projects covering Torbay and Plymouth.

“This award is a real honour: ‘Excellent’ is the kind of comment everyone wants on their school report,” said Mark Muir, Director of Kay Elliott. “The award is also confirmation that educational facilities in the Torbay area in particular and the south west in general can be considered worthy of competing at a national level.”