In 2020 O’DonnellBrown were approached by Cyril Jackson Primary School to produce proposals for a new extension to their existing school in Limehouse, London. In its previous condition, the visitor experience from street to reception was disorientating due to a lack of visual connection. The project brief called for a clear and approachable entrance sequence and the creation of a new face to the street.

The design uses a pre-weathered timber cladding to sensitively harmonise with the existing London Stock brick and unusual geometries of the existing building. The timber offers a warm, natural face to the building in contrast to the harder existing material palette. This directly responds to the school’s wish for a greener and more natural first impression of the school.