City of London Freemen’s School / HawkinsBrown

Architects: HawkinsBrown
Location: London, UK
Year: 2015
Photographs: Tim Crocker

Landscape Architect: BD Landscape
Structure Engineer: HOP Design Stage
Structural Engineer: Alan Baxter
Quantity Surveyor: Capita
Cdm Coordinator: HCD
M&E: Max Fordham
Acoustics: Max Fordham
Planning Consultant: Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners
Main Contractor: Morgan Sindall

From the architect. HawkinsBrown has completed the first phase of a masterplan to overhaul The City of London Freemen’s School in Ashtead, Surrey.

The works, which have been shortlisted for an RIBA South East 2015 Award, comprise a new boarding house and dedicated music school including practice rooms and a recital hall.

The City of London Freemen’s School is a co-educational day and boarding school in Ashtead, Surrey, with its teaching campus situated in the historic grounds of its Grade II* listed Main House.

The new music school has a 200-seat recital hall, dedicated practice rooms with acoustic qualities to suit a range of instruments, KS3 teaching and IT facilities. It sits alongside the new 60-bed boarding house, with both buildings sharing an external courtyard.

Oliver Milton, partner at HawkinsBrown, said: “The project delivers sophisticated, high quality facilities to enhance the School’s reputation as a leading educator in the region, as well as providing bright, enjoyable, and sustainable accommodation for its boarding pupils.”

Susan Williams, the bursar at the City of London Freemen’s School, said: “We are very proud to be associated with architects Hawkins Brown on this project and are thrilled with the design and quality of our new facilities.”