The Mitchell Building at Skinners' School, Tunbridge Wells

Bell Phillips Architects for The Skinners’ School

Contract value: Confidential
GIA: 1,187m²

Bell Phillips Architects has chosen to create a quietly urbane building that speaks to the forms and materials of the red brick Victorian gothic revival buildings whilst mediating between the wider town and school life. It is L-shape in plan, with a tall gable at each end: one facing town, the other overlooking the playground. Simple geometric forms are softened by the gentle red brick, and enlivened by with a sawtooth brick motif, creating a play of light and shadow that echoes the surface decoration of its antecedents.

Inside it culminates in the dramatic top floor library with a timber-lined ceiling following the steep pitch of the roof. Flooded with natural light, this space creates a wonderful learning environment. The building responds to the relationships between the oldest buildings while reordering and enhancing the school campus.

South East RIBA Regional Award 2022

See the rest of the South East winners here
And all the RIBA Regional Awards here