The City Academy in Hackney, which opened in September 2009, has since won several sustainable development awards - including:

Best New Build Project at Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers' Low Carbon Performance Awards 2010 

2010 Green Apple Environmental Award

London Constructing Excellence Award 2010 for Collaborative Working

Short listed for Sustainable School of the Year at British Council for School Environments  Awards and also Building awards 2010

The building, which achieved BREEAM Very Good, is 25% more efficient than building regulation requirements and received an A-rating Energy Performance Certificate despite challenges during the design and construction process, which included relocating to another site halfway through development.

We worked with Studio E architects and consulting engineers Max Fordham to develop a school that optimises natural daylight and ventilation, maintains comfortable temperatures and controls noise, while also complementing the nearby renowned Grade II listed Sutton House. The school design makes excellent use of natural daylight via four ‘light wells’ (see below) that run through the centre of the building to ensure natural daylight on both sides of the classrooms. These corridor atria are big enough to flood light into the heart of the building and allow warm air to rise to stop classrooms overheating.

We also enlisted the help of the Sorrell Foundation’s Young Design Centre to explore what young people want from their school design. Their help influenced the Academy’s brief, design and construction.