Brighton College is one of the leading private schools in Britain. Nowadays boys and girls, visiting and boarding school students study in it. It was founded in 1845 and has a historic "square" campus with the neo-Gothic buildings of George Gilbert Scott Sr. and Thomas Jackson, as well as the late 20th century ensemble with a sports field, where the OMA building appeared; the bureau partner in charge of the project was Helene van Lohn.
In the 21st century, the school has developed a vigorous construction activity: nine buildings according to a new masterplan. In addition to this program, in 2013 Brighton College announced a competition for the design of two new buildings - a sports building and a laboratory building. In its course, it became clear that they could be combined in one structure, and the architects of OMA were the best of all to solve this problem - at least according to the jury.
The authors of the project considered it important to combine the two directions of the school curriculum not only physically, but also ideologically. Sports and laboratory spaces are linked visually through level shifts, large staircases and glass walls, bringing the space to life and creating unusual parallels and vanishing points between different lessons and disciplines. Large “recreation” fosters communication (to stimulate it was the goal of the architects) and individual lessons.
Laboratories and "scientific" classrooms are thrown over the sports part, like a bridge. The sports facilities are flush with the playing field and face there with a glass façade. The exploited roof, partly green, partly with artificial turf and a jogging track (there is a second track on the first floor) also serves as an observation deck overlooking the sea: after all, Brighton is a famous historic resort.
Thanks to the glazing of the facades and openings in the ceilings, natural light is provided in all rooms, ventilation is also provided for natural: mechanical heating and cooling (geothermal heat pump) is turned on only in case of special need.
