Hopkins Architects has completed a Science and Technology (SciTech) centre at Haileybury, the independent school in Hertfordshire, which seeks to support the delivery of science education through interconnected, sustainable design.

The development, doubling the school’s science teaching provision, has been conceived as a way to improve connectivity between STEM disciplines within the historic collegiate campus.

The project, awarded through a design competition, integrates a cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glulam-framed extension with Haileybury’s existing buildings around a central courtyard. The school’s Grade II-listed Herbert Baker building has been modified, creating an axial link to newer facilities that are intended to help unify the campus.

Mike Taylor, principal of Hopkins, remarked, “Historically schools have tended to divide up subjects into separate accommodation to encourage specialisation. This project breaks down those barriers by linking existing buildings with new architectural elements to form a single science and technology department.”

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