The Evelyn Grace Academy

Summary

An exceptional piece of architecture by the celebrated architect Zaha Hadid, this building has been designed to incorporate 'four small schools within a school’. With playgrounds and sports pitches occupying the spaces between the building and surrounding streets, the Academy has oblique geometry and curved corners creating a sophisticated, artistic and stately form.

Glass

“The strategic use of glass and lighting creates a sophisticated interior, layered and – not a word I would expect to associate with Zaha’s cool geometric approach – lovable”. The Architectural Review

The external envelope is a challenging mixture of glazed curtain wall and aluminum rainscreen with distinctive aluminum banding between each of the schools.

Details

The central spaces shared by the schools are large and light-filled, with floor-to-ceiling glazed curtain-walling. The inclines of the walls – so dramatic from the outside – appear in the classrooms to give appropriately-scaled definition and character.

Awards

Won the UK's most prestigious award for architecture, the Stirling Prize 2011.