LONDON - 15 June 2007 - 488 words
London:
Cardinal opens eco-friendly school
The spectacular new £7 million Larmenier & Sacred Heart
Primary School in Hammersmith, west London, was officially opened
yesterday with a Mass of Dedication celebrated by the Archbishop
of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.
The Cardinal said: "I am delighted to be at Larmenier and Sacred Heart Primary School to bless the new school building. The children have had the great privilege of being involved in its design and are very blessed to be in such a lovely new building which puts a particular emphasis on the environment and the safeguarding of the earth's resources. I pray that their years here will be very happy ones, and may all connected to this new project give thanks to God for this marvellous achievement."
The strikingly modern building features solar panels, which will generate ten per cent of the school's power, and a roof covered with an Alpine plant called sedum, which keeps the school warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The design has also allowed for the preservation of two 120 year-old plane trees on the school site.
Other features include light-sensitive dimming controls on the light fittings, automatically-retracting awnings outside the classroom windows, and lockers for all junior pupils. A spacious new main hall with a stage and the library, art and music rooms have proved to be big hits with pupils and staff since they moved there in March. Quiet spaces, or 'pods', have been created in the corridors for reading, artwork and work in small groups.
The building, designed by Studio E Architects, has a spiral design, calculated on the Fibonacci golden mean, which helps to demonstrate the mathematics of nature to children at the school.
The children contributed to their new school building by designing a leaf print, inspired by the trees on the school grounds, for the entrance canopy and interior shading of the new building. Parent and professional sculptor Isabel Langtry has also created a 2-metre bronze tree-like sculpture at the entrance to the school, which is symbolic of the Holy Trinity and refers to the school's close links with neighbouring Holy Trinity Catholic Church.
The school, formed from the merger of Larmenier RC Infants and Sacred Heart Catholic Junior in 2002, has been rebuilt on the site of the old junior school and brings together the infant and junior sites for the first time. Parents, governors, supporters of the school and former parish priests attended the dedication ceremony, as did representatives from the two trustees of the school, the Diocese of Westminster and the Sisters of Nazareth, who were involved in enabling the new school to be built. Other guests included Hammersmith & Fulham MP Greg Hands and Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
Headteacher Sister Hannah Maria Dwyer said: "Pupils, staff and parents all love the new building. It is an absolute joy to teach and learn here."
Source: Archbishop's House
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News 2007
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