WSA's Hard Hat Tour: Sunmarke School

On a build as big as Sunmarke’s (with a vast 39,000 square metre built-up area) it could be tough to pin-point just what might be the most impressive part of the completed school. However, for us there really is no contest, our vote would have to go to the vast entrance hall with auditorium style seating/stairs.

Once finished, it will be modern, imposing and unique amongst schools in the UAE.

The entrance really epitomizes what Sunmarke’s design hopes to achieve. Built on the principles and philosophy of a modern shopping mall, the architects have paid particular attention to the light and feeling of ‘interconnectedness’ throughout the building.

And it works. Sunmarke ‘feels’ large and to be honest- it is. At capacity the school will house 3,000 students on its 28,000 square metre Jumeirah Village Triangle plot.

Like most of the schools we’ve visited, Sunmarke is built in a large U-shape to best utilise the space available. This way, the buildings are placed along three sides of the rectangular plot allowing for a multi-sport pitch center front.

The ‘bottom’ of the U is the school’s ‘core’ as Fortes Education managing director Sanjay Mankani calls it, where the shared facilities will be located, while the two corresponding ‘sides’ of the U make up the bulk of the classroom areas.

“This will give each phase its own personality, yet allow students in every phase easy access to the essential facilities,” says Mankani.

He goes on to note that the entire Fortes Education team was involved in the design and while he says it is based on concepts from Scandinavian design, “it is not radical, but certainly contemporary.”

He says the initial design process started with a base plate then inputs were encouraged from engineers, planners and educators, before finalising the end design.

“We know what works in a pedagogic sense, it just needs a sensible balance,” Mankani says.

Once complete, the Foundation phase will have an Arabic feel, traditional yet modern, with all classrooms opening out onto two large outdoor play courtyards. The local design principles mean the courtyards will at no time have direct sun, allowing children to play safely no matter what time of day.

“It reflects the ethos of where we are, it’s got a desert feel,” says Mankani.

The location has played a part in both the design and the construction of Sunmarke, with Mankani noting that the urban context surrounding the school has dictated the various heights of the build.

On the side facing several high rise apartments, Sunmarke is large, (4 stories with additional roof-top facilities), while on the other side near the residential villas, the building is low, and in keeping with the setting.

The construction process has been affected by the school’s neighbours too, work hours have been significantly reduced to avoid any nighttime disturbance for those living in the vicinity.

During the tour, we note the exceedingly wide corridors in the Primary zone. The Sunmarke principal designate, Natalie Gould says, that while they give the sense of light and space she also plans to encourage primary teachers to use the space for various ‘breakout areas’ when required.

As Mankani notes, “learning is everywhere, learning doesn’t stop.”

Sunmarke’s ‘green’ credentials are satisfactory, with thermally insulated building blocks used throughout the build, solar panels for water heating and an agreement with DEWA for the local city greywater recycling plant to supply the water for the school’s landscaping needs.

Sunmarke is unique in the fact it will ‘inherit’ the entire Regent International Secondary student body. This means, the school can expect an initial start with four forms in Secondary, while the Primary is expected to have one form and grow from there.

Essentially the school will launch in September with a top heavy enrollment structure, (more students in Secondary, than Primary) while his is unusual in the UAE, Fortes Education must be more than happy to start out with such strong numbers.

At capacity Sunmarke will house 3,000 students across 6 forms. Foundation will have a maximum of 22 students per class, Primary 24 and 26 in Secondary classes.

Within the core, there will be two canteens offering hot meals and snacks, a radio station,  a TV station,  9 science labs, 5 design technology labs, 4 ICT labs, 3 fine art labs, a dance studio, a drama studio, a black box studio, a 560 seat auditorium and 4 music labs.

In the sports area there will be 2 pools, tennis courts, two multi purpose halls, and a training track, together with the school's outdoor centerpiece, a full sized football field.

No matter which way you look at it Sunmarke is a big project. It's a school offering premium education in a location recognised by the KHDA as 'high-growth.' The facilities on offer at Sunmarke well-and-truly 'tick' all the premium-facility 'boxes,' and thanks to the ready made student body from Regent International, we expect it to launch with some pretty impressive students numbers too.