Firm’s Chameleon school wins Welsh School of Architecture award
Capita Architecture’s Cardiff office has picked up an award handed out by the Welsh School of Architecture. A team consisting of Neil Farquhar, Keval Patel, Alexandra Iosifidou and Cesar Brito won an ideas competition - held in conjunction with the Royal Society of Architects in Wales’ (RSAW) Annual Conference - for their fictional Chameleon School - an innovative plan for a groundbreaking sustainable primary school.
The scheme is based on a modular ‘kit of parts’ which can be constructed off-site using sustainable materials, resulting in an accelerated construction programme and improved build quality. In order to make the scheme carbon neutral, advanced technologies such as rainwater harvesting, solar panels and wind turbines have been included along with more rudimentary solutions such as hemp insulation which can be grown successfully on fallow British farmland and actively absorbs carbon even when installed.
Neil Farquhar, senior architect, says: “In keeping with its name, flexibility is a key factor of the ‘Chameleon School’, allowing it to adapt to future changes in education, environment and social conditions with as little ecological impact as possible.”
