Abbeygate Sixth Form College

Abbeygate Sixth Form College in Bury St Edmunds was designed to provide high-quality teaching and learning facilities for up to 1700 young people.

The college’s ethos and identity are embedded in our design. Layered voids create unexpected visual connections between floors and to the landscape beyond, and maximise natural light across a variety of informal study spaces.

Arranged as an open sided courtyard with ‘fingers’ of accommodation extending into the landscape, the building itself acts as an acoustic buffer. The finger-block design, which also facilitated a phased construction programme, creates a semi-enclosed courtyard area for dining, outdoor learning and recreation. The steel-framed structure enables a largely column-free design, allowing for future adaptability and reconfiguration.

The building offers several large, multipurpose spaces that support a variety of uses, including a hall space with capacity for 350 seats. On the ground floor, visibility from the central dining area to the art and design department allows the college to celebrate and showcase student work. Flexible teaching and learning suites support the college’s “highly ambitious ‘super-curriculum’”, praised in its 2023 ‘outstanding’ Ofsted report.

Architectural emphasis is focused on the public frontage, where the hall spaces project beyond the face of the building, over-sailing a cut-back entrance. In bold yellow cladding, that contrasts with the restrained dark brick used elsewhere, the entrance announces the new college to its community and provides a dynamic welcome for students and visitors.