‘In‐between’ spaces in postwar primary schools: a micro‐study of a ‘welfare room’ (1977–1993)

Abstract

What narratives may a micro‐study within a school reveal about past lives, roles and design? What traces may be contained within a single room? This paper focuses on an oral history of a ‘welfare room’ in a postwar Infants school as told by a welfare assistant. The school is an early example of school designed by Mary (Crowley) Medd opened in 1949. Mary, together with David Medd, was to play a significant role in postwar school design through their work at a local authority level, particularly in Hertfordshire and more widely at a national and international level through the Ministry of Education Architects and Building Development Group (1949–1972). This study, part of a wider investigation of three of the Medds’ postwar schools, reveals three features of architectural intention lived out in the habitation of the space. There is an attention to the ‘in‐between’ as part of a reconfiguring of learning spaces, to comfort and care linked to design, which promotes growth, and to craftsmanship.