Our creative Education Architects have been hard at work conjuring up yet another inspirational school building design. Tasked with designing an informal garden gathering and eating space for a school in Abingdon, Alice Down the Rabbit Hole has been their source of inspiration.

“Like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, we wanted to capture the feeling of uncovering a small doorway behind a curtain”.

Using the idea of the existing garden as a surface, our School Architects “cut” and lifted it from the landscape, creating an organic canopy, enveloping a flexible, intimate but spacious area below for dining or entertaining.

The building also links to the existing  school theatre, so the space can be used for pre and post theatre gatherings and refreshments.

The brick wall surrounding the site contains a small doorway leading to the headmaster’s garden. The journey of falling down the Rabbit Hole is further intensified within the facade by using large entrance doorways which can fold or pivot, containing a smaller opening door.

Quattro teamed up with structural engineers Arup to develop a structural solution for the delivery of this innovative garden restaurant design in Oxfordshire.

The grid shell design enables us to easily send shafts of light through the enclosure, creating drama.

The drama and excitement of attending the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party would not be lost when dinning in this amazing grid shell configuration……

A space which can also host exhibitions, public speaking events and evening dining experiences for up to 500 guests.