WELLINGTON COLLEGE INTERNATIONAL BANGKOK: ‘CONCRETE ASPIRATIONS’

Wellington Bangkok has broken ground on its second phase, a bespoke senior school and auditorium to take the school to its 1500 student capacity and deliver a bespoke facility and environment that meets the Wellington aspirations.

In keeping with the spirit of WCI Bangkok, the new senior school will be in a light and airy, innovative educational setting. Ultimately, it has been very carefully designed inside and out to capture the ‘tone’ of what our school will be: vibrant, stimulating, thought-provoking, innovative and truly excellent.

Chris Nicholls, Master WCI Bangkok

There are two new buildings and a second larger sports hall, to add to the new auditorium completed in June. A central feature is a magnificent 5-storey cylindrical library and atrium at its centre running top to bottom. As well as bringing through great natural lighting, this provides many extra, flexible spaces for reading and learning, and engaging sight lines across the school.

The interiors feels at certain moments like a relaxed resort hotel, with a dining room that opens to the ornamental lake along one side. The well-appointed, innovatively designed classrooms provide flexible extra teaching and learning spaces, specific Harkness rooms, and  ‘faculty salons’ for both staff and students in each subject area. The top floor houses a creative and performing arts space bathed in light.

“What is really exciting” writes Chris, “ is the chance to design a senior school that links the underlying philosophy of Wellington’s holistic education and strong values, to the reality of education and experience every day in school. The chance to make that aspiration concrete is both a great responsibility and an exciting sense of purpose.”