The Briefing Stage of Design Quality Indicator was carried out on St Barnabas Primary School to improve the accommodation and improve its role from 1FE to 2FE. The project involved the provision of a 2FE Primary School on the existing site either through a new build or through remodelling of the existing spaces.
Participants were informed that the objective of the workshop was to establish the priorities and aspirations the user participants had for these buildings in order to develop the brief to the designers.
Feedback on existing building appraisal was presented at the workshop by the DQI Accredited Facilitator.
The essential message was that the results displayed some dissatisfaction with main areas of the existing building. The valuable aspect of this exercise is to capture those things ‘disliked’ about the existing buildings so designers can be informed of the things to avoid with the new buildings but also, those things that are ‘liked’ about the existing buildings and grounds and their expectations for the new school. While the biggest concerns were related to the lack of space and poor internal environment, respondents were very positive about the quality of the outside spaces.

A number of issues were raised about the brief and the school’s vision which needed further detailed discussion. The school had a strong vision and ethos – let the light shine – and the design supported this. Improving site access and security were key issues to success of the new school. The school is very committed to sustainability and the design team explored with them ways to make sustainability an integral part of the design ans specification of materials at an early stage.