Ollerenshaw House, St. Leonards School

Ollerenshaw, a boarding house for boys studying at St Leonard's School, underwent a major refurbishment focusing on the ground floor communal spaces and bedroom spaces, creating new communal areas for students and staff in addition to a new games area, television room and a large refectory kitchen.  

The spaces were designed to be interconnected around the building entrance to create a central hub which activates various activities. The newly located Housemaster Duty Office ensures improved visibility to the main circulation areas and communal spaces. A number of support spaces including golf locker rooms, sanitary facilities and a laundry have also been enhanced, with bedrooms being upgraded with modern furniture and finishes to offer high-quality accommodation for students. 

The project was undertaken during an extremely tight summer recess and was successfully handed over on time and on budget. Effective communication, sequencing and organisation was critical to this successful delivery of this project. 

The boarding house suffered from a lack of communal space and had depreciated over time. This project injects new life into the building and creates a warm rich interior enhancing the student experience and promoting positive wellbeing. Creating linkages between spaces encourages student interaction and the new internal finishes creates a comfortable home away from home for the occupants. Students have been empowered with a sense of ownership as each of the communal spaces is customised to their briefing requirements.