Uniquely Angular Sandal Magna School is One of The Most Carbon Efficient in UK

Featuring out-of-the-ordinary architectural shapes and a truly creative design, the Sandal Magna Community Primary School in Wakefield, <a href="http://inhabitat.com/deserted-uk-tin-mine-transformed-into-1-4mw-solar-power-plant/" target="_blank">England</a> also happens to be one of the UK's most carbon efficient. Designed by <a href="http://www.swarch.co.uk/" target="_blank">Sarah Wigglesworth Architects</a>, the complex resembles the industrial forms of its surroundings and incorporates <a href="http://inhabitat.com/design-direct-recycles-1000-discarded-drawers-into-colorful-cabinetry/" target="_blank">reclaimed materials</a>, energy conservation, and renewable energy. The school recently won the RIBA award for both its green efforts and its unique looks.

When the original <a href="http://inhabitat.com/amazing-sf-victorian-renovation-marries-the-old-with-green-modern/" target="_blank">Victorian</a> school on the site had fallen into disrepair, the red bricks were disassembled. Wigglesworth then <a href="http://inhabitat.com/interview-we-talk-to-artist-benjamin-jones-about-his-incredible-sustainable-treehouse/" target="_blank">re-used</a> the original bricks, to build elements of the new Sandal Magna.

The school was also constructed largely from sustainable timber. The original Victorian bell also hangs in the new tower, telling children its time for school for over a hundred years.

The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/rammed-earth-and-stone-buildings-make-up-oaxaca-school-of-plastic-arts/" target="_blank">school</a>’s roofs jut into asymmetrical profiles, allowing a strip for ventilation and natural lighting to waft fresh air and sunlight into the classrooms below. Wigglesworth wanted the school’s energy saving features to be apparent to the students, so that they may learn from them.

That said, a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/landscape-designer-margie-ruddick-fined-for-her-own-garden/" target="_blank">rainwater harvesting</a> system is visible throughout the school, as well as the completely natural ventilation system. Photovoltaic solar paneling are laid on the roof, which provide power to a ground source heat pump, that heats water and provides the school’s temperature control.

The students also have their own plot of garden behind the school, used to raise <a href="http://inhabitat.com/dutch-polydome-could-be-used-to-provide-the-majority-of-nyc’s-food/" target="_blank">fruits and vegetables</a>. The school houses 210 students under the age of 11, but was built to accommodate expansion to 315.

Aside from the regular curriculum, the students will learn the importance of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/iotti-pavarani-win-renzo-piano-award-with-self-sufficient-domus-technica/" target="_blank">energy efficiency</a>, and raising their own produce.