Few recent visitors to Dulwich College can have failed to notice the construction process that has been underway to create the first half of The Laboratory, the College’s new Science facility. Marcus Kottering (Year 12) was one of the first students to see inside, on a guided tour for The Alleynian a few days before opening
M y tour begins with the weekly meeting of the project’s construction committee. After an hour, I am still struggling to understand much of the technical jargon that is clearly a hugely significant part of this building process. With precise efficiency, the team go through a booklet containing a long list of details outlining major concerns, checking that each party is in-sync to allow for smooth operation. I ask Simon Yiend, the College’s Chief Operating Officer and my tour guide, what ‘FF&E’ stands for. He simplifies things for me by explaining: ‘If you took the building upside down and shook it, that’s what would fall out’. It seems a reasonable concern. One gets the impression that this team has been working together for a long time, which, as it turns out, is in fact the case. In November 2011, Dulwich contracted McLaren to begin the planning of the build and estimating the overall cost. The attention to detail they gave to the project was impressive – even small, but nonetheless important, aspects were considered: the shade of the Burette racks in the Chemistry labs (grey or white?); design for signage; the logistics of liquid nitrogen storage. With the meeting concluded, Mr Yiend and I arm ourselves with high-vis jackets and helmets before entering the building through the boys’ ground floor toilets, which serves as the main entrance until the proper version is completed. We soon find ourselves on the Physics floor, into which light floods from the rooftop. Two voids run from the top to the bottom of the building: one is to display a work of art made by the celebrated sculptor Conrad Shawcross, the other is for the James Caird, Shackleton’s boat that has until now resided in the North Cloister. The surroundings of this College treasure have been cleverly designed to fill the zig-zagged floor with glass gravel, so when an LED light is passed through, it looks like it’s cutting through the ice. With scientists today pushing the boundaries of technology, from discovering the minutest particles to exploring entire galaxies, the Laboratory is clearly designed to foster similar ambition in the work that goes on in its 18 classrooms. Less obvious, however, is the way the new building also has examples of highly advanced technology
Left : Shackleton’s James Caird in its new home inside The Laboratory.
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