Background & Brief

Old Newton Primary School is situated 3 miles North of Stowmarket in a rural setting close to St Mary’s Parish Church, in the village of Old Newton, Suffolk. Originally built in 1859, the school was extended in 1999 and 2008 and comprises a collection of buildings with capacity for 105 pupils.​

In 2023 the school secured funding to create a new self-contained classroom and library in an underused area overlooking the playground. A prefabricated volumetric solution was initially considered, but rejected on the grounds of limited design options, questions of longevity and potential air quality issues arising from mostly petrochemical derived internal finish materials. In 2024 the school governors approached IF_DO Architects and Natural Building Systems to propose an off-site manufactured solution using regenerative, natural materials. ​

Central to the school’s ambition was the need for a flexible teaching space with a seating area overlooking the playground, and excellent indoor air quality, free from VOC’s and other contaminants. Moreover, the new classroom would need to be delivered and built rapidly, with disruptive operations occurring only during school holidays.​