Reasons for Designation
Aboyne Lodge School In St Albans, Hertfordshire, erected 1948-50, is recommended for designation for the following principal reasons:
* It is an early example of the celebrated Post- War Hertfordshire school building programme which pioneered the use of a prefabricated unit construction system, the first example of such an system in England.
* The school has undergone little significant alteration and retains evidence of its original constructional form and spatial planning.
* The school is one of the first to have been designed at a scale befitting the childen who were to be its occupants and with an interior which was both accessible and adaptable to changing needs.
* The school represents an early example of an integrated multi-discipinary design and build project, with architects, structural engineers and component manufacturers all engaged in the development of a new modular construction system.
Details
575/0/10064
24-MAR-10
ETNA ROAD
Aboyne Lodge School
II
Infants' school. 1948-50. extended c.1976 and with subsequent internal alterations. The school was designed for Hertfordshire County Council by C.H. Aslin, County Architect, and the job architect D.Baron.
MATERIALS: The core structural element of the school buildings is a modular lightweight steel frame made up of beams and columns built up of welded steel sections onto which are fixed pre-cast concrete ceiling slabs and reinforced concrete wall panels.
PLAN: The school complex is made up of three linked building clusters, two of which, sited on the east and west sides, house classrooms and linking access areas. A third, to the north, contains the main entrance area, communal assembly, dining areas and offices. The later nursery building was built to the north-west of the western cluster.
EXTERIORS: The main entrance to the school is on the west side of the north cluster in a single storied unit, giving access to a spacious circulation area linking the three building clusters. The main elevation is made up of a series of tall transomed three-light windows below a flat roof. Above this are ascending tiers of shallow clerestory lights which serve areas to the rear of the frontage building. To the south-west of the entrance building is the west cluster of classrooms and associated circulation areas and a corridor which extends eastwards to the junction of the three clusters. The three classrooms are square on plan, with all or part of three sides with tall three-light windows above a painted plinth panel, and above, a further painted panel above which is a shallow three-light clerestory window extending the full length of the wall at eaves level. The southernmost classroom faces onto an open play area to the south. Further east a set back corridor links the west cluster to the former staff room and extensions to the east cluster, added to provide two classrooms. These additions continue the modular rhythm of the original design, but are lower in height and differ in detail, with tall transomed windows in place of the window and clerestory combination used in the original classrooms, two of which are located immediately to the east. The return elevation to the east extends beyond the entrance doorway to the corridor linking the east cluster to its companion clusters to the single storey boiler house and service rooms to the east of the school hall. The hall is the tallest element of the complex, with a continuous clerestory band of three-light windows at eaves level to all elevations. The east facing wall is the only unenclosed wall and has three, three-light glazed openings, two windows and one double doorway, located centrally with tall painted panels above. The remaining wall panels are undecorated. Set back on the north-facing wall of the hall is the return elevation of the entrance building, also with undecorated fair faced concrete wall panels.
INTERIOR: The original interior was a mixture of interconnecting spaces, corridors and enclosures based on a core module of 8ft 3in, which was designed to allow future adaptation and extension if and when necessary. The present interior is little altered, and displays many of the characteristics of the original design, including open lattice steel ceiling beams, square section steel columns and generous areas of wall and clerestory glazing. The original design allowed for the clusters of classrooms to open out into common cloakroom and activity areas internally, and paved enclosures and surrounding areas externally. The present arrangement continues to reflect the aspirations of the original design for a well lit, largely open plan and essentially accessible interior which remains strongly child oriented in terms of the dimensions of classrooms and connecting areas.
HISTORY.
Aboyne Lodge was completed in 1950 and was designed to accommodate 240 infants. It was built as part of a highly significant school building programme undertaken by Hertfordshire County Council, which revolutionised the way in which schools were designed and built, and which became known as the `Hertfordshire system'. The new post-War Hertfordshire schools were built in response to a nation-wide increase in the birth rate, and the need to cope with several large new town developments and new large London County Council housing estates. In Hertfordshire, fifty new primary schools were needed to be built in eight years, an extremely challenging rate of progress using conventional constructional methods. The County Architect, C.H.Aslin, his deputy Stirrat Johnston Marshall and a new team of young architects, including David Medd, designed a pioneering system of prefabricated construction suitable for school building, the first example of prefabricated unit construction in England. David Medd led the development of the system's structural grid, which was the basis of its great flexibility and potential for adaptation. The technical development was shared between the County Architect's department and consultant structural engineers, and, at the same time, new lighting and heating systems were developed and brought into production. The first new school was completed in 1947 at Cheshunt, with 40 more completed by 1951. Aboyne Lodge was one of the earliest schools to be completed, alongside those at Cheshunt, Essenden, Templewood, Welwyn Garden City and Morgan's Walk, Hertford, all of which are now listed. The school was extended and altered c.1976 with the addition of a nursery department, and an extra classroom, together with some internal modifications to help accommodate junior pupils A temporary classroom has been sited on the south-west boundary of the school, but the complex remains essentially as designed, with beneficial internal modifications made possible by the modular system used in its construction.
SOURCES:
Saint. A. Towards a Social Architecture. (1987).
Aslin C.H. Four Schools in Hertfordshire The Architectural Review vol. III (1952)
Davies R.L., and Weekes J. R., The Hertfordshire Achievement The Architectural Review. vol. III (1952).
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION:
Aboyne Lodge School in St Albans, Hertfordshire is designated for the following principal reasons:
* It is an early example of the celebrated Post-War school building programme in Hertfordshire which pioneered the use of a prefabricated unit construction system, believed to be the first example of such a system in England.
* The school has undergone little significant alteration and retains abundant evidence of its original constructional form and spatial planning.
* The school is one of the first to have been designed at a scale befitting the children who were to be its occupants and with an interior which was both accessible and adaptable to changing needs.
* The school represents an early example of an integrated multi-disciplinary design and build project, with architects, structural engineers and component manufacturers all engaged in the development of a new modular construction system.
