{"id":751361,"date":"2024-08-08T08:07:04","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T07:07:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=751361"},"modified":"2024-08-08T08:29:23","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T07:29:23","slug":"jestico-whiles-completes-73-million-cayman-islands-secondary-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/jestico-whiles-completes-73-million-cayman-islands-secondary-school","title":{"rendered":"Jestico + Whiles completes \u00a373 million Cayman Islands secondary school"},"content":{"rendered":"

The earlier scheme for John Gray High School, a secondary school in the Cayman capital of George Town, had been designed by US firm Fielding Nair.<\/p>\n

But work was halted mid-construction in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis amid concerns around the suitability of its proposed campus design. Several part-constructed buildings were left abandoned on the site adjoining the existing school.<\/p>\n

Jestico + Whiles then won an international competition in 2020 held by the Cayman Islands government, to design and complete the school<\/a>.\u00a0The brief called for the part-constructed buildings to be integrated into a single connected building.<\/p>\n

Jestico + Whiles\u2019 new central building stitches together the refitted abandoned structures around a central \u2018heart\u2019, creating a flexible school for its 1,200 students and 150 members of staff.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At its centre is a timber-lined library suspended above an open-plan canteen, acting as a social space connecting the school\u2019s departments across three wings. This is surrounded by a combination of breakout areas and small group rooms.<\/p>\n

Internal greening and abundant rooflights aim to prioritise user wellbeing. Externally, soft landscaping made up of indigenous plants surrounds the classrooms, while a courtyard provides external social spaces.<\/p>\n

A bespoke solar control fa\u00e7ade maximises daylight while eliminating solar glare. Onsite PVs harness this renewable energy for use in the school.<\/p>\n

Designed to resist hurricanes, the building doubles as a shelter and emergency refuge with space for over 3,600 occupants.<\/p>\n

As the largest state school in the islands, the building doubles up as a hub for the community, hosting events, celebrations, concerts and theatre performances in the new performance hall, which has capacity for over 400 people.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Architect\u2019s view<\/h3>\n

This unique project presented a number of challenges. After a decade, with part-constructed buildings visibly degrading on site, there was natural scepticism in the community as to whether the project would ever be completed. There was also cynicism about whether the school community would be listened to in the process. Teachers, in particular, felt that previous education initiatives that resulted in the earlier design had been done to the community rather than with them.<\/p>\n

The government brief for a single building required the integration of the abandoned part-built structures, which had been designed to a fundamentally different concept. And there was also the challenge of the island context, particularly in terms of construction logistics, climate resilience and the hazards posed by both hurricanes and earthquakes.<\/p>\n

We undertook extensive consultation with the school community to ensure the new design embodied their ambitions. We held workshops with students, staff and parents, using a variety of tools to get their input in effectively co-designing the new school. In tandem, we worked with educationalists to analyse the spatial requirements and efficiencies of the envisaged accommodation. The completed building incorporates facilities not available anywhere else in the country with a blend of traditional and flexible learning spaces for breakout and independent learning.<\/p>\n

During early walkarounds of the school\u2019s existing buildings, we were struck by the poor quality of some of the teaching spaces. Opening a door to what was noted on the plans as storage, we were astonished to find a small group of students inside working with a teacher. Hurricane shutters were down, excluding natural light, with fluorescent lights on and poor ventilation. Outside, in contrast, there was the brilliant Caribbean sky. For us, this underlined the challenges the existing facilities presented to the young people and teachers and provided extra motivation to develop a design that maximised the amount of natural light, which is in abundance in Cayman, and provided the young people with the best possible environment for teaching and learning.<\/p>\n

We collaborated with a local architectural practice and engineering consultancies to combine our education expertise with their on-island experience of designing in the Cayman Islands context. This proved to be a very successful and rewarding collaboration. We gained a lot of knowledge about seismic design, designing in a tropical climatic and for hurricane resistance. We also had to deliver the scheme in feet and inches as, although the Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory, the construction industry is all based on American standards.
\nBen Marston, director, Jestico + Whiles<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Client\u2019s view<\/h3>\n

The team at Jestico + Whiles listened to staff, students and parents and embraced our vision, not only in designing the building but also considering the impact on school improvement. They really delivered on our key priorities of maximising learning time, visible learning in all areas, passive and active supervision and keeping all students safe at all times with clear lines of sight. We now have a secure yet welcoming and inspiring place to learn and work where we can deliver a world-class curriculum.<\/p>\n

We are already seeing many positive benefits of our new building. Sstaff are collaborating more, behaviour is greatly improved and students are enjoying their learning. Each wing of the building has a clear curriculum purpose. We have an Arts wing, a Humanities and Languages wing and a STEM wing. State-of-the-art science labs with a well-designed prep room have increased the amount of practical science we can now deliver.<\/p>\n

From a leadership perspective, I can walk the entire school and see every teacher and every learning space in less than 15 minutes, which allows us to constantly monitor the \u2018climate\u2019 for learning and support where necessary. We have state-of-the-art facilities for our extended vocational program at KS4 from robotics and nutrition to automotive and fashion, and beautiful collaborative spaces for work outside of the classroom and cross-curricular engagement.
\nJonathan Clark, principal, John Gray High School<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Project data<\/h3>\n

Start on site<\/strong> September 2019 (enabling works), August 2020 (main contract works)
\nCompletion date<\/strong> August 2022 (existing buildings), March 2023 (official opening), January 2024 (main construction complete), July 2025 (playing fields)
\nGross internal floor area<\/strong> 15,322m\u00b2
\nForm of contract<\/strong>\u00a0JCT Design and Build Contract 2016
\nConstruction cost<\/strong> CI$77 million (\u00a373 million)
\nConstruction cost per m\u00b2<\/strong> CI$4,984 (\u00a34,700)
\nArchitect<\/strong> Jestico + Whiles
\nExecutive architect<\/strong> Chalmers Gibbs
\nClient<\/strong> Cayman Islands Government
\nStructural engineer<\/strong> APEC
\nM&E consultant<\/strong> MCW Consultants
\nQuantity surveyor<\/strong>\u00a0JEC Property Consultants
\nFFE consultant<\/strong> Red Apple Designs
\nLandscape consultant<\/strong> Fabrik
\nAcoustic consultant<\/strong> Pace Consult
\nProject manager<\/strong> Cayman Islands Government
\nCode consultant<\/strong> Jensen Hughes
\nMain contractor<\/strong> McAlpine
\nCAD software used<\/strong> Revit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The earlier scheme for John Gray High School, a secondary school in the Cayman capital of George Town, had been designed by US firm Fielding Nair. But work was halted mid-construction in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis amid concerns around the suitability of its proposed campus design. Several part-constructed buildings were left abandoned …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59337,"featured_media":751402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[706],"tags":[77034,6249,1462,1494],"yoast_head":"\nJestico + Whiles completes \u00a373 million Cayman Islands secondary school<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The practice won a competition to design and complete the largest school on the islands after work on a previous scheme was left half-built in 2012\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/jestico-whiles-completes-73-million-cayman-islands-secondary-school\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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