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Erith Quarry & Lime Wood Primary School

2014 - 2023

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Our approach to Erith Quarry was founded upon the ecological and geographical benefits of the site.
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Our approach to Erith Quarry was founded upon the ecological and geographical benefits of the site.

Strategy

Erith Quarry in Bexley, south-east London, has found a new purpose. After long being considered unsuitable for development due to its history as a disused quarry, Erith Quarry has now found a new purpose. As masterplanners, architects and landscape architects, working in partnership with developers Anderson, we’ve created a whole new neighbourhood, which includes a three-form primary school, 650 new homes and a new ecological park.

Location:
London, UK
Client:
Anderson Group
L&Q
Role:
Urban Designer, Architect and Landscape Architect
Status:
Completed 2023
Collaborators:
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The disused quarry.
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Our masterplan vision for Erith.
Erith Quarry School Architecture Model Photography Circular Building Design Jarrell Goh 2
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Lime Wood Primary School – which wasn’t part of the original brief – sits at the highest, most prominent point of Erith Quarry and is the focal point for the emerging community.
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Specificity

Our detailed designs for Lime Wood Primary School include a pure circular footprint which is embedded into the landscape, elevated above terraced communal spaces.

The circular shape maximises natural daylight and ventilation, and provides flexibility of space that will allow a wide curriculum of teaching areas, multi-purpose halls, and a music and drama studio.

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The school's design also provides space for a central, external courtyard, which creates a calm, protected heart to the campus that functions as both a social and educational space. This courtyard acts as a secure sanctuary, encouraging free play, quiet reflection, and outdoor learning within a safe, protected environment.

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The circular plan enhances this sense of enclosure and openness simultaneously, allowing clear sightlines across the school so pupils and staff can see what’s happening in and around the courtyard at a glance. This visual connectivity fosters a stronger sense of community, creating an intimate, inclusive atmosphere where everyone feels part of a shared environment.

The circular layout ensures daily life within the school remains visible, connected, and grounded in a sense of togetherness.

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The school building is designed with concrete, timber and glass as the principle materials. These have a strong relationship with the historic context of the quarry and the existing woodland, ensuring that it blends in comfortably with its setting.
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Classrooms open out into garden spaces, where the boundaries between indoors and outdoors dissolve. Outdoor learning areas are nestled among trees and native planting, while edible gardens and allotments offer hands-on lessons in sustainability, science, and biodiversity.

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Generous floor-to-ceiling windows flood the classrooms with natural light, creating bright, uplifting spaces that support focus and wellbeing. These expansive panes frame views of the surrounding greenery, ensuring that nature is a constant presence in these classrooms.
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The Quarry, Erith

Our overall masterplan for Erith Quarry was founded upon the ecological and geographical benefits of the site, and we saw the topography as an opportunity rather than a constraint. We’ve explored every possibility to connect with the landscape and make the whole site easily accessible and enjoyable by all.

The development offers a thoughtfully balanced mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments. Inspired by the unique topography of the site, our design arranges four buildings that gently step down the hillside. This approach minimises visual impact while ensuring the scale sits comfortably alongside neighbouring homes and integrates seamlessly with the wider development.

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Generous open spaces between the blocks facilitate visual and physical connections between the existing context and the new development. The stepped massing and articulated façade composition introduce a varied and faceted architectural expression, while respecting the spatial hierarchies and design principles established in the masterplan.

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Sustainability

The disused quarry was first used for landfill and then abandoned, giving nature and wildlife a chance to take over – a quality we were keen to preserve. The site in its original state supported a diverse range of invertebrates, but was also contaminated by Japanese Knotweed and other invasive species.

Our masterplan protects the most ecologically valuable parts of the site and maintains a mosaic of different habitats, all while ensuring that invasive species are prevented from recolonising the site.

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Our approach was about prioritising nature: we’ve softened the street scene with newly planted trees and shrubs, encouraged low-speed environments with traffic calming and shared surfaces, provided bat and bird boxes, increased the existing grassland and woodland habitats, and given all family houses generous rear gardens.

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We wanted the countryside qualities of this suburban site to shine through, almost as if the buildings had grown from the topography of the site. Information boards and signage help to inform and educate, and the school – as the focal point of the community and with its emphasis on outdoor learning and energy efficiency – leads the way in terms of a sustaining, biodiverse and natural environment.

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Erith Quarry and Lime Wood Primary School Architectural Photography by Jarrell Goh

Awards

Year
Category
Award
Status
2024
Social Infrastructure Project of the Year
British Construction Industry Awards
Finalist
2024
Educational Buildings
Architecture Masterprize
Winner
Key Project Contacts