Misk Schools Campus

Following a major international competition in 2020, Design Engine were commissioned as design lead and delivery co-ordinator of a brand new campus with the capacity for 1000 students. The new Misk Schools campus is made up of nine schools, supported by admin and sports facilities. The scheme represents a key part of the new Mohammed Bin Salman Nonprofit City – the first nonprofit city in the world.

This project delivers equal facilities for both genders. Children begin their education at Kindergarten age, charting a journey through lower and upper primary schools, and on to middle and senior schools. Supporting the schools are three professional style auditoria that can seat up to 850, and an exhibition gallery for cultural showcases. The campus will also contain 25m and 50m Olympic swimming pools, a sports hall with 12 multi-purpose courts and a gymnastics hall. Outside will feature two FIFA standard synthetic grass pitches and two 400mm athletics track. The Schools are organised on the site to create a collegiate structure reminiscent of world renowned education facilities, yet subtly reflects the historic urban fabric typical of the region. Each school has then been developed to make best use of the sloping site, creating five distinct plateaus which are then connected by formal and informal landscaping. A key component of the school design was reference to historic Arabic town planning of clustered courtyards which has been overlaid with traditional collegiate typology of a quad or court found in English schools and colleges. In Arabic architecture the courtyard also represents the ‘heart of the home’ so has been included within each school from Kindergarten to Senior school. These connected courts and colonnades support togetherness and communal learning whilst providing protection from the sun, offer direct access to light and air as well as creating ‘outdoor rooms’ for relaxation, recreation and private and group study. This simple planning device enables the school facilities of the ‘home classrooms’ on the ground floor and the specialist teaching spaces on the upper floors to create a protective wrap encouraging wellbeing, stimulate confidence and help extend learning boundaries. Outdoor spaces within the school are intended to have the potential for different uses and character, from tranquil, restful and contemplative to engaging, enlightening and educational to active and stimulating. The arid landscape of the area is rich in culture and heritage, which will provide inspiration for the proportions of spaces, their orientation and juxtaposition, to enable air flow and to design with shade, to create tempered environments. Each school has been developed using the home studio as the primary focal space, carefully designed to respond to Misk’s education pedagogy ethos according to the age of the student ranging from kindergarten through to senior school. In each case the home studio is seen as the epicentre of each year group, ensuring the student's educational and pastoral needs are the focus of the education programme.