Design & Build

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.

LONDON ORATORY SCHOOL ETFE Roof Occupied Site Steel Frame Complex Logistics Info box:Client: London Oratory SchoolArchitect: IID Architects                    Quantity Surveyor: Robinson Low Francis                                                          Project Manager: IID Architects Value: £5m The London Oratory School is a highly successful Catholic day school for boys aged 7-18 years, with a mixed 6th form. It caters for approximately 1400 students. The works sought to unlock valuable space within the courtyard by enclosing it with an ETFE roof at fourth floor level. Our project delivered 500sqm of additional teaching accommodation in four new classrooms and the extension of a further 23 classrooms. A central library and IT facility delivered an additional 263sqm learning resources space. Extended walkways on the upper levels creates informal teaching and group working areas and the introduction of a new staircase reduces congestion. The project included the addition of a first floor to the existing single storey administration wing to provide offices and meeting rooms with a tea prep area and wheelchair accessible WC. The new corridor superstructure was erected by a trailer mounted tower crane brought into the courtyard via an access tunnel. Steelwork was erected using this tower crane. The new steel frame was constructed with the balconies installed at each lift to tie the new structure into the old before progressing onto the next level. Together with atrium scaffolding this gave a working platform at each level of the next lift. Once the steel structure was completed the upstands were formed and the ETFE roof fitted. Erection of final elements and the composite space frame type “girders” were by mobile crane stood outside the building footprint. Girders were assembled at ground level and erected as a single piece in order to avoid costly temporary works. The ETFE roof was erected by means of mobile access platforms within the courtyard and it was essential to have new drainage outlets in place to take run off from the roof. Once the roof was weathertight fitting out works commenced to the circulation balconies. In tandem with these the “pod” offices were installed.

WELLINGTON PRIMARY SCHOOL Complex Logistics Sports Facilities Stakeholder Engagement Info box:Client: London Borough of HounslowArchitect: AWW Architects                Quantity Surveyor: Pick Everard      Project Manager: Pick Everard Value: £10m This design and build contract provided a new build school campus 480 KS2 students, housed in classes of 30 pupils in a 4FE organisation. The site is adjacent to the existing school. It also provides additional changing facilities for sports pitches to be used independently by a local secondary school. The project provided a new vehicular and pedestrian access with independent access to the sports changing rooms, car park and playing fields. Part of the proposals also include the enhancement of the existing playing fields to provide: Football pitch Rugby pitch 10 wicket cricket oval Cricket practice nets Sports Pavilion The new hall and studio facilities within the new school are available for use by the local community out of school hours. The design was prepared to allow the main body of the school to be closed off to the public during times of local community use and for the hall and studio wing to be operated as a standalone facility with the added potential of the school kitchen area if required. Significant investment in the design of the school grounds created a stimulating and creative place which supports curriculum learning and gives the children a rich and varied experience. At the heart of the design of this scheme is the ambition to build on this investment and celebrate outside learning through the provision of a variety of spaces including: Roof garden – a protected and secure rooftop allotment linked to the specialist practical area. This serves to encourage and understand healthy and sustainable eating Outdoor classroom – a sheltered space used as a teaching area with enough space for a whole class. This space has a direct connection with the studio and so can become an informal performance area Soft play – conveniently located and safe acting as a buffer between hard play and playing fields, predominantly a grassed space to site and socialise. Some imaginative landscaping and planting has been including sloping and tiered grass to form a natural amphitheatre with provision for spectators Hard play – to promote healthy, active creative outdoor play. Outdoor seating is arranged as an extension to the classroom below the canopy to create smaller, sheltered more intimate areas Habitat area – creates an opportunity to study nature active as a valuable resource for leaching and learning “Project delivered early – excellent communication with bowls club, daily visits by site team to ensure that they had no issues. Excellent performance by on site team”          John Sharp – Director, Pick Everard

WESTMINSTER CITY SCHOOL Occupied Site Steel Frame Temporary Works Logistics Phasing Info box:Client: Westminster City CouncilArchitect: 3BM                                        Quantity Surveyor: Fusion Project Management                                              Project Manager: Woodley Coles Value: £4.3m   The project involved the demolition of two school buildings at the rear of the school site and erection of a new three storey building which facilitates an additional one form of entry. Leasing out the third floor as office space during the interim period until additonal space is required provided the school with a valuable rental income stream. The school is located in a busy part of London near to Victoria Station. The site borders two separate hotels to the North East and land owned by TfL in the form of a concrete slab over The District Underground line to the East.  As an underground train line runs along the East boundary, a process of TfL approval for design, method statements and works was undertaken as part of the enabling work for the project. A significant portion of the fixed glazed front elevation is constructed from polycarbonate panels in a metal frame. Polycarbonate translucent panels were chosen due to the adjacency with the playground and to minimise issues relating to impact damage caused by play activity immediately next to the new building. They have the benefit of allowing a degree of natural lighting through but restricting vision outwards, thus increasing privacy within classrooms and minimising visual distractions. The demolition and construction took place on the school’s outdoor recreation and sports space. Neilcott undertook careful liaison with the school to agree segregation measures and minimisation of site footprint. Temporary accommodation was provided on the playground during demolition of the existing building and construction of the new building. “Everyone on the team worked hard to get the best possible outcome in design and on site for the client on time, cost and quality. The aftercare team then carried on this theme on by clearing the low number of defects swiftly and effectively with no arguments, even if the responsibility for rectification could be seen as muddy. It really is appreciated.”                                                                                                                         Katherine Sykes, Project Manager

STEPNEY GREEN 6TH FORM CENTRE Occupied Site Complex Logistics MMC Info box:Client: Amber InfrastructureArchitect: AWW ArchitectsValue: £3.7m Stepney Green is a boys’ comprehensive school and one of the top schools in Tower Hamlets. The three storey building provides education facilities for the new Sixth Form currently being established at the School. The site for the new school building is in the south-west corner of the existing Stepney Green Maths, Computing and Science College on Ben Jonson Road. The site fronts directly onto the street although the new building adjoins and connects directly into the adjacent existing dining room. Close stakeholder liaison and logistics planning was an integral part of the success of this project. The structure is a steel frame and suspended in-situ RC ground floor slab founded generally on ground beams and piled foundations. Upper floors are in-situ concrete on profiled metal deck. All floors have a floating screed on insulation to accommodate an underfloor heating system. The roof is formed with a structural metal deck. External walls use a metsec frame, boarded internally with plasterboard and externally with cementitious sheathing board. High levels of thermal performance is achieved with insulation within the metsec zone and outer cavity. The outer leaf is facing brickwork. The new building will act as a transition between the recently completed school buildings and the Ocean Estate masterplan. The building has a similar materials to the new residential development and took precedence from the existing colours in the area. The roof area is used as an amenity space for staff and students. The stair and lift extend to serve roof level and the perimeter parapet is designed to provide the required edge protection. The Sixth Form Centre is physically connected to the existing dining facilities. The ground floor glazing is set back from the boundary by approximately a metre. Large concrete columns support the overhanging first floor level creating a defensible space in-front of the classroom windows.

THE GERMAN SCHOOL Occupied Site Sport England Compliant Bleacher Seating Info box:Client: The German SchoolArchitect: Rivington Street Studio   Project Manager: Gardiner & Theobald  Value: £6m The German School London is an all through 3-18 years co-educational school and is one of 140 schools abroad that the German Government has set up to promote German language and culture abroad. It is a member of the International Schools Sports Association (ISSA), members are required to host tournaments regularly requiring competition compliant facilities. Working on the fully operational school site and in close proximity to teaching spaces  the logistics approach for the site required caeful planning and close liaison with the school throughout. The project involved the demolition of the existing sports hall and the construction of a new 44 x 22m main sports hall with a 7.5m clear floor to ceiling height in order to accommodate competition sized courts for handball, fusball, volleyball, badminton and basketball. A secondary hall provides for gymnastics, dance, martial arts and general primary school PE. Associated changing, storage, meeting, seminar and medical rooms were also provided to support the two hall spaces. The new main entrance foyer leads to the main sports hall. The hall has a view to the north, through trees to the school’s playing fields. High level light is also brought in from six rooflights. The hall has the capability to be split into three smaller courts if required using acoustic dividers. A 500 capacity retractable bleacher seating is also provided for assembly or performance purposes. There are three sports stores with roller-shutter doors leading directly off the sports hall, together with a control room and first aid room. Four sets of group changing rooms are provided in two groups in order to provide flexible changing facilities (male/female, home/away, inside/outside sports etc.). These can also be accessed directly from outside. Staff/referee changing facilities are also provided with WC’s and cleaners stores.