Etchingham School

ECE Architecture

A contemporary school and pre-school, set within a wider village development, shaped as three timber barns around a new square, rooted in landscape, community, and enduring material quality.

Part of a larger masterplan for Etchingham, the project replaces the village hall, adds new homes, and delivers a new school and pre-school. We led a collaborative, full-service commission, aligning public and private stakeholders to create a coherent place with education at its heart.

Responding to the sloping Lambing Field, the three barn-like forms step with the terrain, maintaining accessible routes and clear wayfinding. Their canopies and glazed frontages open directly onto the village square, extending learning outdoors and animating the public realm. A sensitive edge-of-village setting, adjacent to Ancient Woodland, informed orientation, massing, and landscape thresholds.

Complex partnerships and a challenging site demanded clarity and momentum. Managing levels, drainage, and access across RIBA Stages 1-6, we coordinated with the County Council, Diocese, Parish Council, and developer to align budgets, programmes, and aspirations. The square’s activation, safeguarding, and shared use were resolved through careful layout, thresholds, and robust detailing.

Material choices are deliberately local in character and long-lasting in performance. Timber cladding gives warmth and tactility, weathering gracefully within the rural setting. Glazed curtain walling enhances transparency and passive supervision, while extended canopies provide shelter, solar control, and generous spill-out. The palette balances buildability, lifecycle value, and a calm, contemporary expression.

The village square is the project’s social heart. Framed by the barns, it hosts daily arrival, community events, and informal play, linking the school, community facility, and new homes. Edges are active yet safe, with clear sightlines and natural surveillance, creating a welcoming civic focus at the village edge.

Etchingham Barns delivers more than a school – it establishes a connected place. Site-responsive design, a purposeful material palette, and a vibrant village square combine to create lasting value for learners, neighbours, and the wider community. Design excellence, backed by technical integrity, ensures its benefits endure.