Chilwell Lower School

Chilwell Lower School

Built in 1975-1976 to designs by Michael Tempest and Roger Bearsmore of Nottinghamshire County Council Architects' Department, this lower school adjoins the main school on its south side.

The building employs a CLASP Mark 5 pin-jointed light steel frame with concrete panels faced in brown brick chippings, and metal roof decks with felt coverings. It comprises three rectangular blocks—a north-west block, a large central block, and a smaller south-east block—connected by narrow linking blocks arranged around a courtyard layout.

The two-storey structure has a flat roof with rooflights, including two large pitched rooflights over the central block. Each floor is clad in full-height, rectangular exposed aggregate panels of light brown colour, with a narrow ribbon window running at ground-floor lintel height. Fenestration consists of two-light windows in plastic frames; those on the ground floor and linking blocks have blue panels beneath reaching to the ground. The first floor has either two-light windows or canted oriels with two horizontal lights. Blue plastic doors with glazed upper panels serve as entry points. All windows and doors were replaced in 2016.

The north-east approach passes the small south-east block, which is largely blind except for one two-light first-floor window. The main entrance occupies a slightly recessed linking block with double-leaf doors, flanking windows, and a four-light window above. The central block's short south-east elevation has off-centre windows on both floors. Its main north-east elevation displays a group of three windows flanked by doors, with further windows at either end; the first floor has five oriels positioned above the ground-floor windows. The right return features a central three-light window and a two-light window on both floors. The north-west block's short south-east elevation has three-light windows on both floors. Its main north-east elevation includes narrow windows at the ends, a double-leaf door on the left, and a two-light window on the right, with five first-floor windows (the outer two being narrower). The north-west elevation contains windows at either end with a central grouping of door, window, door, three windows and a double-leaf door; the first floor echoes this arrangement with three central oriels flanked by single windows. The south-west rear elevation of the north-west block is similar, except first-floor windows are not oriels. The central block's rear elevation mirrors its front, while the south-east block's rear elevation is lit by windows on both floors on the left side.

Internally, the entrance hall floor and walls are laid in brownish-red tiles, with a rectangular tiled bed for indoor plants. The building's main areas are lined with hessian or narrow vertical beech strips, the latter also encasing square pillars. Staircases and balustrades feature glass panels with stainless steel handrails. Suspended ceilings were installed in 2016.

The central space, illuminated by parallel pitched rooflights, rises through one and a half storeys with numerous level changes. The main mezzanine accommodates the resource centre, accessed via a bridge from both ground and first floors, with six teaching spaces on the ground floor and nine on the first floor connected by open staircases on three sides. The fourth side leads to the science area and dining room below. The plan form has altered minimally: a smaller room was created within the staffroom in the south corner of the south-east block, and a partition wall was added to close off a small area in the south end of the central block on both floors.