Skelly & Couch has worked closely with developer Vastint UK and architects Penoyre & Prasad to deliver an innovative new Primary School, called School 360, on Sugar House Island - a new, water-bound development transforming 26 acres of an historic region in east London into a mixed-use area of offices, homes, restaurants and more. 

Operated by the Big Education Trust, the school is one of a group of three planned Big Education schools in close proximity. It joins sister school, the Ofsted-rated ‘Outstanding’ School 21, a 4 to 18 school in the heart of Stratford, and a new secondary school and sixth form that will open in 2023 next to Plaistow station. The school offers children a variety of learning experiences and spaces with a ‘makerspace’ dedicated to arts and crafts, ‘Oracy stairs’ which offer informal seating and opportunities for students to share their voice, and a flexible studio space designed for drama and oracy sessions. Skelly & Couch provided stage 3 and 4 MEP design for the new school. Centralised mechanical ventilation is used throughout the building, an unusual feature for schools, and is designed to result in ‘demand-controlled’ ventilation throughout the teaching spaces. In addition, an Air Handling Unit (AHU) has an integrated, heat pump-efficient mechanism for providing tempered (pre-heated or cooled) air to the building. The BREEAM rating is Very Good.

In addition to School 360, Skelly & Couch contributed to The Talent House on Sugar House Island, a new home for two urban culture groups, East London Dance and music organisation UD. Both School 360 and The Talent House are connected to an energy-efficient, site-wide district heating connection.