Transforming a former university campus into a supportive educational community

The Deaf Academy - Structural Design

Set on a former campus site for the University of Plymouth, the Deaf Academy wanted their facilities to incorporate the precepts of inspiration, visual communication, and inclusivity. They engaged our civil and structural engineers as part of the team to help realize their vision of a community facility that would go beyond basic inclusive design good practice.

Our role involved determining how to retain and refurbish existing buildings, like the theatre, while designing new facilities that would provide a safe haven for students to learn and socialize, including the teaching hub and residential space. Developed in line with DeafSpace standards and current technologies in deaf education, the design creates spaces honed to the needs of visual communication. Students can focus on their educational and social needs, free from the physical environment standing in their way.

In collaboration with architect Stride Treglown, we designed the main teaching building in a rounded pentagon shape to allow for wide corridors that improve pedestrian sightlines and sounded corners. This attention to spatial layout, and other elements such as natural lighting and color schemes, nurtures wellbeing, inclusion, and communication. The new buildings also provide controllable daylight and natural ventilation. Sourcing building materials locally and sustainably reduced the impact on the environment. Additionally, surplus timber and other materials were given to local residents for reuse, diverting 97 percent of waste from landfills.

Today, the Deaf Academy accommodates 135 students and around 200 associated teaching and support employees. The space not only reflects a wide range of specialist needs among the students but also makes a distinction between the different age ranges, from pre-school through primary, secondary to adult, for safeguarding reasons and to demonstrate a clear sense of progression for the students. A new residential accommodation provides around 40 rooms in the form of three townhouses containing self-contained flats and a common room.