Ynysowen Community Primary School

Aberfan

A repeated glulam timber frame is both the primary structural frame and the main architectural feature in this primary school. Such a repetitive system allows the building to be built within a tight budget and means alterations later are relatively easy as partition walls are non-structural. The biggest engineering challenge lay in finding consistently firm ground as the site is an old spoil heap. Coal mining records and the ground investigation were vital to our understanding of the difficult and variable conditions. Opened by the Queen in 2012.