11th July 2018

Back to school with Benni Allan

- written by Laura

Many architects boast about delivering a project on a tight budget and you find out that ‘tight’ means an eye-watering figure that most normal humans will never see in their lives. But when architect Benni Allan claims to have worked on a budget, boy, he means it. His latest project – clad his former school in southern Spain with waves of colourful homemade tiles – was delivered for an incredible £1,000.

This drive for affordability was partly out of necessity, and partly due to Benni’s interested in socially engaged, open-ended architecture. Studying at UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture, the emerging talent was dubbed a ‘One to Watch’ by the British Design Council in 2015 and was shortlisted for a RIBA Rising Stars Award in 2017. He’s gone on to teach at the University of Greenwich and, as a RIBA ambassador, works with schools in Hackney to broaden awareness of what architects do and how to become one.

Material investigations into different colours of red to create the mural for La Falda

No stranger to working with children then, Benni designed this thought-provoking, collaborative project to involve the British school’s students, which range from primary school age to A-Level and come from more than 50 different countries. Briefed to give the weathered and tired school building a facelift in line with other improvements inside and out, Benni was keen to impart on the structure a distinct architectural identity. An educational experience in its own right, the whole school got to see Benni and his architectural students get their hands dirty forming and fitting the cladding tiles – both giving them the opportunity to see how structures are made and ownership over their environment.

The façade has been made from bitumen panels – commonly used on warehouses and farm buildings – as they’re easy to shape, paint and maintain. Fitting them to a lightweight aluminium frame, the panels have been arranged in a mural-style pattern in tones of red – a nod to the terracotta tiles that are part of the vernacular in the region. The project’s name, La Falda (or The Dress), comes from this patterning, as the undulating ripples of tiles resemble the traditional textiles Valencian women wear during festivals.

Benni and his brother, Nico Allan, who helps to run the school.

This hands-on approach was one that the headmaster, who is also Benni’s father, whole-heartedly approved of. ‘My dad is a talented and determined individual who would rather work out the problem and build it himself than let someone else make it,’ says Benni. ‘Our attitudes to making and our can-do approach have definitely come from him.’ It’s hoped that the next project will involve the children themselves, taking their newfound knowledge of materials in the the practical sphere.

The terracotta tiles that characterise the roofs of homes throughout the Spanish region.

‘I hope that the dressing of the school will open students' imaginations to the possibility of what a building is, and also what learning spaces can be,’ says Benni. ‘I feel strongly that learning environments should foster and empower students of all ages to be curious. I think an understanding about materials and buildings is as important to wellbeing and learning as other subjects, and being sympathetic to the built environment around us is key to a sustainable future.’

If you’re interested to learn more about Benni and the process behind this inspiring project, follow him on Instagram here.

Material investigations into different colours of red to create the mural for La Falda

La Falda school children.