Plastic Classroom at Kennington Primary School

Primary school classroom. 1973-1974 to design by Ben Stephenson and Mike Bracewell under County Architect, Roger Booth, for Lancashire County Council Architects’ Department. The original primary school, 1908, architect unknown, 1950s, 1960s, and circa 2000 extensions, and the link corridor between the plastic classroom and the main school are not of special interest and are excluded from the listing.

MATERIALS: built of glassfibre-reinforced plastic (GRP) panels with a concrete base.

PLAN: the classroom is a modified icosahedron in shape.

EXTERIOR: the classroom is situated on the east side of the original school building. It stands on a wide, gently-sloping base of textured concrete. There is a deep, ribbed concrete plinth of nine, slightly-inward sloping faces on which the plastic frame is set. The plinth abuts the low, smooth concrete walls of the link corridor on its west side. The main body of the classroom is formed from angled, triangular GRP panels, which are white in colour. There are seven windows around the lower part of the structure, alternating between two types: adjacent triangular lights, meeting at an outward-facing angle and three triangular lights converging in an outward-facing triangular pyramid. The lights are fixed with rubber gaskets. Above, triangular panels rise to form an angular dome. There are five, circular, button-like ventilators around the dome apex.

The attached link corridor has been altered with different fenestration from the original and the insertion of a doorway on its north side, and is not included in the listing.

INTERIOR: the classroom retains much of its original appearance with faceted walls and an open floor space. Temporary, hessian-covered, triangular boards have been fixed between the windows for display purposes. The original seating around the perimeter has been renewed and the original spot lights on runners attached to the frame have been replaced by five suspended strip lights.