Grace House

Grace House

A teaching block for disabled children designed in 1965 by Alec F French and Partners for the Catherine Grace Trust.

The building is constructed of structural and pre-cast concrete. The pentagonal blocks feature structural pentagonal concrete columns, concrete pilasters, and exposed aggregate and brick panels. The wedged-shaped blocks are finished with brick fins. The central roof lantern is of folded timber construction, externally covered with asphalt (originally sheet copper). The other flat roofs are covered in asphalt. Windows are double-glazed aluminium sashes. Floors are concrete screed with wood block flooring. Doors are plain timber with plain timber architrave, some with metal numbers fixed to the centre of the architrave above. Partition walls are plastered brick.

The plan is centralised and geometric, radiating from a central dodecagon that forms a double-height circulation and activity space. This is surrounded by six large pentagonal two-storey classroom blocks, connected to each other by wedged-shaped blocks containing quiet rooms and storage rooms. At first-floor level, the storage rooms are accessible to the classrooms on either side, providing an additional circulation route. The building extends to the west as a single-storey section forming the principal entrance, and to the east as a two-storey section forming the rear entrance, both terminating with pentagonal rooms. The wings house cloakrooms, services and a staff room.

The roof plan echoes the floor plan, with the different geometric volumes clearly articulated. This is continued in the external elevations through the massing and juxtaposition of the pentagonal and wedged-shaped blocks. The three-bay external elevations of the pentagonal blocks have full-height splayed concrete pilasters to either side of the set back central bays and pentagonal concrete columns at the corners. There is a row of three large aluminium windows to each floor, with aggregate panels to the top and bottom rows and brick panels to the central row. The wedged-shaped blocks are given vertical emphasis with tall, closely-spaced brick fins between the narrow aluminium windows.

The covered entrances to the south and north elevations both have terracotta tiled floors beneath concrete canopies.

The central dodecagonal circulation space provides both a communal activity area and a circulation space, with a curved timber staircase and first-floor gallery running around its perimeter. The staircase has a double-height handrail and stick-type balusters with larger circular balusters with reed detailing at intervals. The roof over the circulation hall is of folded timber construction. Clerestorey-style windows in the shape of isosceles trapeziums with slender vertical glazing bars are fitted to the concave sections of the roof. Rectangular windows are fitted to the convex sections. The original electrolier is fitted to the centre of the ceiling.

The surrounding classrooms are well-lit with large windows and are plain in finish, with wood block floors and plain timber doors and architraves. Some fitted furniture survives, particularly in the storage rooms.