Rivington Street Studio was commissioned by Gordonstoun in 2019 to produce a Masterplan which reflects the School’s vision as a world leader in character education. The Masterplan aims to enhance the green infrastructure, to reflect the school’s beautiful location in Moray, to improve the built environment, and to encourage collaboration and interaction.
The Queen Elizabeth II Rooms are recently completed and are the first Classroom Hub within the Masterplan’s Classroom Village. The hub provides four standard sized classrooms, two smaller teaching rooms, staff room, breakout area and associated amenities. The design is based on a simple modular grid with two main blocks of space joined via central circulation and provides an adaptable building which will allow the spaces to respond to future changes in groups sizes and pedagogy.
The pitched roofs are expressed internally creating airy bright teaching spaces with a positive relationship to the adjoining landscape and with direct access to it. The spaces are equipped with the latest teaching tools and benefit from good acoustics and flexible furniture.
The external form is crisp and modern with its smart timber cladding blending well within the park setting.
The project is highly sustainable with ground source heat pumps, PV panels, natural ventilation and high levels of insulation with a fabric first approach. The embodied carbon consumption is estimated to be 304kgCO2e/m² including offset from sequestered carbon, achieving the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge target for embodied carbon. The use of regenerative materials was a key feature in achieving this outcome.
The Queen Elizabeth II Rooms set the standard for new sustainable teaching and learning spaces within the new Classroom Village.
To see a video of the project, click here.
To read more about the masterplan, click here.
"RSS has been wonderful throughout our relationship with them…. they stepped in beyond their traditional remit, not only really helping us out but then wholeheartedly representing our interests far and beyond the call of duty. Our masterplan development was complicated because of our high profile stakeholders and this was managed with ease. RSS is a trusted partner. It’s a real pleasure working with them."
Pamela Muir, Bursar
