The proposals for Tidemill School are part of a visionary concept to combine a replacement primary school, district library and other community activities to form the Deptford Lounge, a state of the art learning centre. The new school will benefit from increased space and facilities achieved through combining uses with the wider community, in a physically and socially integrated environment. The school will form an L-shape around an open courtyard, with the Deptford Lounge forming the third side. During the school day the children£s library which forms part of the Deptford Lounge will be isolated from the public, and open only via the school, but out of school hours it will form an integral part of the community library facilities. The library is thus designed to allow for dual school and community use. Major shared facilities between the Lounge and Tidemill School will also include a school/ community hall, rooftop ball court, and refectory. In addition to this a music room, food science room and cr£che within the Lounge building will be shared with the school, with separate access points from within the school and from the public realm. On the far side of the courtyard lies a five-storey apartment block. Here PTEa has drawn upon its previous experience of combining school and residential uses to ensure that accessing and servicing are entirely separate from the school and that overlooking is minimised.