Hampden Gurney C of E Primary School

The innovative vertical design of Hampden Gurney C of E Primary School incorporates open-air play decks and residential apartments that funded the redevelopment of the site. Designed by BDP.

Described in the RIBA Awards citation as "innovative" and boasting a "bold and dynamic" design process, Hampden Gurney School is an exciting solution to the problem of a tight urban site in the heart of the inner city.

The school is situated in a densely built area, on the corner of Nutford Place and Forest Street off the busy Edgware Road just north of Marble Arch. This 'school in the sky' shows a unique solution to maximising land use.

Hampden Gurney voluntary aided primary school is the parish school of the Church of the Annunciation in Bryanston Street. It replaces the 1960s and low-rise school, formerly the site of St Luke's Church and school destroyed by a Second World War bomb.

The school sets high academic standards for its 240 pupils whose ages range from three to eleven and the building reflects this aspiration. The trustees wanted the building to play an active role in the life of the community, and its physical presence (affectionately known as the 'beehive') is indeed a prominent feature in the neighbourhood.