Founded in 1581, the historic Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent all-boy’s school located on north west London's Green Belt landscape.

Max Fordham was part of the RIBA competition winning team, along with Architecture PLB, charged with providing the school with a new purpose-built Design and Technology Building. The brief called for high sustainability requirements alongside a varied and flexible teaching environment. Extensive employment of natural ventilation and the provision of photovoltaics to generate renewable electricity helped meet those requirements.

Part of our brief included the development of a sustainability matrix, allowing specific concerns to be prioritised and audited throughout the design process. This carefully considered approach has resulted in a building with a low energy demand that is simple to operate and maintain.