ABOUT

The original Durham Johnston School was split across two sites, four kilometres apart, accommodating 1,000 pupils at Crossgate Moor and a further 450 at Whinney Hills. The new development not only amalgamates these two institutions into a single facility at Crossgate Moor but was also able to remain operational throughout the construction period.

A triple height fully glazed central street links the facilities and provides a number of breakout learning zones, which also increase the teaching space provision. Community facilities and dedicated curriculum delivery spaces form separate elements off the main street.

This allows the school to operate its community facilities, several of which are not available elsewhere in the city, outside school hours.
The project brief was opened to many architecture firms as part of a contest. As part of Ryder’s pitch, I compiled a series of illustrations to complement the floor plans and elevations of the building in order to bring the Ryder vision to life. Ryder’s pitch was successful and I feel honoured to have been a part of the team.

Throughout my time at Ryder I continued to bring a graphic design element to all of their pitches as well as creating floor plans and elevations on Revit and Autocad. In order to master architectural softwares such as Revit and Autocad I was also given the opportunity to design my dream home as you can see featured above, left and below. It featured several difficult design features, including the addition of a glass lift.

Also amongst other architectural contests that Ryder entered, they were to design a new and innovative street-side kiosk which was to be introduced during the British Olympic Games of 2012. The difficulty was in the space optimisation of the kiosk.

Working as a graphic designer and illustrator for Ryder Architecture was a fantastic experience that culitvated an appreciation of space optimisation, lighting and how to bring a floor plan to life.