Dean Close Day Houses

Day House Village | Cheltenham

Contract Type: Design and Build
Cost: £3.5 million
Client: Dean Close School
Status: Complete
Completed: July, 2019

This project is a phase of NVB's masterplan for the school which was completed in 2016, which created a revised layout comprising a new academic heart, a new social heart and a new pastoral heart for the school. The Day House Village is the new pastoral heart with four Day Houses around a landscaped courtyard.

The courtyard evokes the series of green quads that characterise the senior school campus. Creating a series of buildings around a shared space gives a sense of community and linkage whilst retaining individuality for each house. The courtyard is arranged around natural pupil routes across the campus linking the academic areas, the chapel and the dining hall.

Individually each house is arranged with a domestic kitchen and lounge at ground floor alongside a changing and locker room. At first floor there are senior and junior study rooms. These are in the pitch of the roof with dormers and roof lights. Each building is designed to be very similar, with the main distinction between each house replicated by house colours. The houses are on a domestic scale, rather than institutional, creating a homely feel for the pupils.