As an international education provider operating across the world, the students and teachers of Education First (EF) are used to enjoying beautiful surroundings and the recently completed language school in Cambridge is no exception.

The new school building has been carefully arranged, with the classrooms spread over two levels and linked by a central glazed atrium.  With a key requirement of the scheme being the use of both natural light and ventilation, Senior Architectural System’s innovative Hybrid range of doors, windows and curtain walling has been specified to fulfil the exacting brief.

The innovative construction of Senior’s Hybrid range, which combines the durability of aluminium externally with the environmental and aesthetic benefits of timber internally, made it the ideal choice for this ambitious scheme.

Installed by leading fabricator Ali Systems, Senior’s Hybrid Series 3 curtain walling has been used to create the school’s striking double height atrium with the slim sightlines offered by the Hybrid Series 2 windows further complementing the building’s architectural heritage. To meet the additional requirements of a busy modern school, Senior’s SD automatic doors completed the package.

The language school is located in an historic Edwardian villa in a tranquil tree-lined residential area close to Cambridge’s city centre but prior to its extensive refurbishment, the period property was struggling to meet the rigorous demands of a modern educational facility.  Leading architect NRAP has sympathetically reinvented the space to create an inspirational learning environment that has gone on to be recognised with a number of key architectural accolades including RIBA East Regional Award 2015, a Historic England Conservation Award and Cambridge Design and Construction Award.