SN Bhríde, Lackagh, Co. Galway

Hamilton Young Architects were commissioned by the BoM of SN Bhríde to design a new 1,600 sq.m. primary school to replace their aging facility in the Co. Galway village of Lackagh.

The project comprised of the construction of a new 8 classroom primary school, complete with new car parking, hard play areas and other site works. The works also included for the demolition of the existing school building and removal of existing prefabs.

One of the key requirements of the brief was that it could be expanded as the community grows. The internal areas have been carefully designed to create a range of comfortable, stimulating teaching spaces. Good acoustics, daylighting and natural ventilation provide appropriate learning environments throughout the school. Particular attention has been given to passive supervision, both internally and externally, which enables flexible and independent learning,

good communication and sharing of resources between teachers and classes.

The school engaged artist Fiona Murphy to design a beautiful “Outdoor Classroom”, which was funded under the government’s Per Cent for Art Scheme.

Throughout each of our projects, we carefully manage our relationship with the client and keep them fully informed of progress with regular meetings, site inspections and formal reports. This project was undertaken during term time and we took great care to ensure that disruption to pupils and staff was minimised through careful planning and close liaison with the school’s Board of Management.