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BARKING ABBEY SCHOOL Occupied Site Steel Frame Decant Phasing Info box:Client: London Borough of Barking and DagenhamArchitect: Rivington Street StudioQuantity Surveyor: Playle and PartnersProject Manager: BeFirstValue: £19.2m Developed from RIBA Stage 3 through a 2-stage design and build process, we managed this project to expand the school across three separate sites in Barking. New buildings provide; 2,450m2 of specialist teaching accommodation and a new sixth form centre at the Sandringham campus, 3,200m2 of specialist teaching accommodation and a new kitchen and dining hall at the Longbridge campus and 1,300m2 of sporting and community facilities on its sports area. Site 1 – Longbridge Road Campus This new steel framed teaching block has an attractive red brick façade and incorporates the following new facilities: General teaching, science labs, art and design/technology classrooms Dining hall and kitchen facilities Staff room, offices, toilets and support accommodation Site 2 – Longbridge Road Campus Sports Building A design review changed the location of the building to avoid large groups of students having to cross a busy road to access the new sports facilities. The new single-storey steel frame sports block was designed to be: Compliant to Sports England guidelines to maximise revenue generation/external use Sized to accommodate 2 new sports courts Site 3 – Sandringham Campus, New Classrooms and Sixth Form Centre New steel framed classroom block and sixth form centre connected to an existing building through circulation space to provide a seamless link at ground and first floors. Existing temporary accommodation on-site was removed following completion of the new building. New sixth form centre, comprising open plan study area, ICT suite, separate reception, offices Kitchen/servery 4 science labs Additional works were instructed during the contract including refurbishment of an existing 1920s hall and new car parking. “Neilcott spend time to understand our goals and end user requirements to help the whole team achieve these shared project objectives. They have a non-confrontational approach and work constructively to find solutions and ways to add value.”                  Dawn Hughes – Senior Project Sponsor

ROYAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL Occupied Site Steel Frame SIPS Complex Logistics Phasing Info box:Client: Royal Grammar SchoolArchitect: IID Architects                    Quantity Surveyor: Ainsley’sValue: £5m Neilcott was appointed to undertake phase-3 of the nine-phase Royal Grammar School (RGS) masterplan. The new facilities in the heart of the listed school were co-ordinated around a live school environment and include conversion of old design & technology labs into state-of-the-art chemistry labs, followed by construction of a 725m2 fourth-floor extension over the existing three-storey ‘spine’ block between two central courtyards. Neilcott undertook the third (most recent) phase of development, including: a 725m2 spine extension to the main building at height; relocation of construction-affected teaching accommodation; infill of existing courtyard spaces; and relocation of the library into the “heart” of the school; for completion prior to the new academic year A key element of the project was the planned, phased decant and recant of working areas, swiftly completing moves as refurbishment works progressed through different areas. During construction of the spine to accommodate the piling works, temporary designated access routes were formed to both courtyards through the existing school building at ground floor level to facilitate the specialist piling rig required to reach the designed depths. These routes also facilitated access for site personnel, excavated materials off site and concrete for the foundations to minimise interface with the live school. We installed the structural steel roof structure and supporting columns, whilst leaving the pitched roof structure over the spine in-situ, until the it could be safely demolished in a weathertight environment. We managed phasing and programming of works, ceasing all construction during the 2-week public exam period, ensuring no disruption or distraction to pupils, additionally scheduling works (including steel frame/composite floor works) from 4pm-8pm on many evenings to maintain school operations without disruption. During pre-construction period we identified interface issues e.g. service routing and new to old connections and coordinated effective value engineering work to ensure effective cost control and maintain viability for this complex project. “There have been two big challenges on this project – the technical challenge of building it and keeping the school operating …Neilcott dealt extremely well with the health, safety and safeguarding implications of this, as well as minimising disruption for our teachers.”                                                                                                                                      Bob Ukiah – Chief Operating Officer

WEST HERTS COLLEGE Occupied Site Steel Frame LRC Science Laboratories Info box:Client: West Herts CollegeArchitect: IBI Taylor Young                Quantity Surveyor: Equals Consulting Project Manager: Equals Consulting       Value: £10m Neilcott were appointed by West Herts College to design and construct a new teaching facility at their Hemel Hempstead campus to provide facilities for 16 -18 year-old students. The new building comprises the following facilities; new main entrance, reception area and lobby, Learning Resource Centre, student services, refectory, general teaching classrooms, specialist IT suites, science lab and break out spaces. Construction methodology for the project included the use of vibro piles, pile caps, ground beams and a ground bearing slab providing structural support for the steel framed superstructure. Retaining walls were constructed to provide support at changes of level around the building to allow the building to coordinate with the existing external levels and sloping site. Architectural features in key areas of the building, such as the north light over the 16-18 building were incorporated to carry natural light to ground level with feature colours introduced by the college to enhance the environment. Neilcott developed a master construction programme for construction and subsequent demolition and external works. Due to the tight timeframe, an enabling scope was agreed to facilitate works to de-risk the unknown ground conditions and contamination risk following extensive demolition works completed prior to our appointment. This exercise identified an element of contamination along with the presence of existing foundations, the contamination was removed and the new proposed foundations were re-designed to avoid the existing foundations. “Neilcott have been an exceptional contractor to work with and the College is extremely pleased with the high quality building that has been delivered, which is exactly as was determined in the design brief.”                                                                                            Gillian O’Connell, Director of Curriculum

RONALD ROSS & GREENMEAD SCHOOLS Occupied Site Pool Feature Brickwork SEND Facilities Co-location Info box:Client: London Borough of WandsworthArchitect: HLM Architects                Quantity Surveyor: WYG                      Project Manager: WYG                Value: £14m The project enabled co-location of the existing 1FE Ronald Ross Primary School and 72-place Greenmead SEN Primary School on the Ronald Ross site, undertaking associated demolition and external works. The new building is designed to accommodate students with physical disabilities, incorporating accessibility and access measures, including a hydrotherapy pool, specialist hoists and equipment. Located on a confined site, a key aim was to reduce the building footprint, requiring an optimal balance of building scale and height. The solution provided a three storey “L” shaped building which takes advantage of the extreme level changes across the site creating two levels with direct access to the ground level. The school’s main entrance is situated at the centre of the building, between the two schools. Pulled away from the road, a dedicated pedestrian path runs between the vehicular access and Ronald Ross early years play area. Separate vehicular access is provided for vehicles with disabled access. A draught lobby is provided to protect the building entrance area from extreme weather, whilst also creating a third secure line within the entrance area. Both schools have general offices facing the entrance lobby area as well as a shared central reception desk area. The three halls have been designed to work as a single large space or series of smaller spaces to suit various requirements of both schools, such as dining, PE, school performances and assemblies. The school has a hydrotherapy pool, used extensively by the Greenmead children. Extensive use of track hoists facilitates movement and care of the students. All doors through which track hoists pass were made 2.5m tall so track can run straight through.   To support play space requirements, an element of roof play has been introduced above the Ronald Ross wing. This space will be used for safe play as well as external classrooms for teaching outside. Feature brickwork was used, with addition of perforated peepholes from the roof terrace The project achieved BREEAM Very Good with passive ventilation, high-efficiency boilers and low energy lighting systems. “What a pleasure it has been working with your team. Nothing has been too much trouble… including daft questions I sometimes raise, all answered with patience. [Neilcott Site Team] have also forged brilliant relationships with the children…visited the school council, as well as allaying any fears that our parents may have had at a recent coffee morning…your team are a credit to Neilcott”                                                           Julie Meredith – Head Teacher, Ronald Ross School

JAMES ALLEN’S GIRLS’ SCHOOL Occupied Site Special Acoustics and Lighting Stakeholder Liason Info box:Client: James Allen’s Girls’ SchoolArchitect: AKSWard                            Quantity Surveyor: Total Project Integration                                                  Project Manager: Total Project Integration                                      Value: £6.7m Design and construction of a sustainable state-of-the-art music centre building providing excellent performance, rehearsal and teaching spaces including: A 500-seat concert hall with flexible seating and staging 7 Teaching and rehearsal rooms 15 practice rooms Percussion and string bases Multiple IT suites Combined entrance and foyer, music staff office space, outdoor quad area The new facility is composed of three elements: a hall, a teaching wing and a courtyard. Hall The design of the hall ensures that the space is large and tall enough for the volume of music generated by large orchestral groups and suitable for all drama and music uses. The new foyer also forms a new main entrance to the school, easing space pressures on the historic Hoist Hall within the main school and offers level access at ground floor to the main auditorium Teaching Wing Teaching and administration spaces occupy the north east wing of the “L” shaped building on 3 floors and are accessed from a single corridor that connects the two principal staircases at the corners of the building, with a lift at the corridor’s mid-point. The glazed staircase is placed at the end of the corridors and provides view out and daylight in to the circulation spaces. Ground floor accommodation is set back from the existing 6th form facility to create an underpass through to the new quad. A dedicated Preparatory School music reception and teaching space allow convenient access from the playground to the shared music facilities. A further large classroom adjacent to the main hall can be used for rehearsal, performance and community use including music therapy or extended hospitality space during large performances. A central lift provides vertical circulation for inclusive access and movement of large instruments between floors and the main performance hall. Courtyard The hall and teaching facilities adopt an L-shape, which together with the existing building configuration forms a new courtyard, with the multi-purpose hall at the heart of the new facilities.