Conor K Jenkins (He/Him)


The Balloch Music School: Energy, Landscape, Culture
The Balloch Music School aims to create an inclusive, flexible and creative space for the use by the charity SISTEMA. The charity enables children to explore their potential through education and musical talent, having branches in multiple areas around Scotland. The Balloch Music School is to provide a safe haven for the Glasgow branch, a quiet destination to be used on a semi-permanent basis for day trips and residential retreats.
The school is built to the Passive-House Standard for maximum efficiency and low running costs, ensuring it will have as little impact environmentally as possible. Within the school, inclusive and child-friendly measures have been taken to allow for a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere to be harboured for its residents. A muted interior with colourful intermissions create a playful atmosphere for work and rest, while a local-sensitive approach to roof lines and exterior cladding allow for an easy integration into the landscape. Client-specified facilities such as cluster bedrooms, communal social spaces and public performance spaces all reach the intended capacity – and are designed in a way that is both comfortable and practical for everyday use.
The Balloch Music School: Renders
Ensuring the interior spaces of the project are welcoming and inspiring is one of the most important features of the school. The main user group includes children of all ages, from children as young as pre-school age to students in their senior years of high school. A soft and peaceful atmosphere needed to be created to provide a peaceful stay at the school, while colourful intermissions lend a sense of creativity and fun for the younger year groups.
The Balloch Music School: Architectural Technology
As Architects and Designers, we have a responsibility to ensure our practice and expertise have a positive impact on the environment. By aiming to achieve sustainability goals such as the Passive-House Standard, we can begin to pave the way for a sustainable future. The Balloch Music School aims to achieve these goals in a number of ways. The location and positioning harnesses optimal thermal energy to reduce consumption of fossil fuels. The materials chosen for construction all adhere to strict sustainability standards in their manufacturing, and when put together allow for the creation of a design with a minimal carbon footprint. A continuous insulation barrier ensures maximum heat retention, while a strict level of air tightness ensures minimal heat loss and external draughts. CLT panel construction allows for a quick and easy construction without fuel consuming machinery, while locally sourced materials reduces the amount of energy consumption from importing materials from afar.