The good place: BDP’s Newmains and St Brigid’s Community Hub

This article first appeared in Mix Interiors #230

Words: Chloe Petersen Snell
Photography: David Barbour

In an unassuming former mining village about 18 miles south-east of Glasgow you will find Newmains & St Brigid’s Primary School and Community Hub. It brings together two primary schools and a nursery into one modern, purpose-built building created for the wider community, set in the middle of a housing estate and a short stroll from a high street. From 9am until 3pm it serves primarily as a vibrant school environment, with the two schools jutting out from a central communal hub where the children can socialise with each other during break periods. Outside of school hours a series of multifunctional spaces and large grounds are used by the local community, from social work to dance classes and even birthday parties. It was sociologist Ray Oldenburg who coined the term ‘Third Spaces,’ a space outside of home and work that offers individuals a neutral, public space for connecting and creating bonds – and Newmains & St Brigid’s ticks all the boxes.