Project Details
Location: Medway, Kent
Client: Medway Council
Employers Agent: Bailey Partnership
Contract Type: JCT Design & Build Contract 2016
Project Summary
- Design and construction of a new double classroom building, with stores, WCs and circulation space
- Awarded under a PCSA (Pre-Construction Services Agreement) to give greater certainty to the planning process
- Modular panel system with steel erected on-site, panels built in the factory then shipped to site
- Extremely restricted space and limited access on occupied school premises
- Brick slip and render finish to complement the existing building.
- Floor area approximately 192m2
- UPVC windows and doors
- All groundworks, foundations and drainage
- Fire detection and intruder alarm installations, all integrated into existing BMS system
- Provision of temporary teaching space for the construction phase
- Works included refurbishment of toilet area within an existing adjacent building, addition of a weather canopy and drainage to an external play area
- Externals included construction of a footpath and tree works
- 18-week construction period
- Completed February 2021
- Project value £664,000
The Challenge
Greenacre Academy is a boys’ secondary school with shared sixth form located in Walderslade, Kent. It is part of the Skills for Life Trust, which aims to prepare pupils for adulthood by encouraging them to reach their full potential academically, teaching life skills and exposing them to a range of potential careers and mentors from the business world, both locally and regionally.
The school was seeking to increase teaching space in line with the intake for the new school year. The designated site was a corner plot adjacent to the existing building, required to house two classrooms with toilet facilities and stores. Access to the area was extremely tight and demanded a creative approach to achieve the desired end result.
“This was an extremely challenging project in terms of both project planning and construction, due to the space restrictions on site. The finished build optimises the available area and complements the existing architecture of the school.”
Additional Works
The specification was further extended to include the refurbishment of washrooms in an adjacent building, as well as the construction of a weather canopy and drainage to an external play area, addition of a footpath for access and some necessary tree works.
As part of the project, Enviro Building Solutions sourced and installed temporary teaching space elsewhere on the site to meet the requirements of the Academy. This was removed once the new building was ready for use at the end of the 13-week construction period.
Bringing together design and planning
The project was managed under a PCSA (Pre-Construction Services Agreement), fostering a collaborative approach enabling Enviro Building Solutions to contribute to the earliest stages of the process. This was followed by a PPA (Planning Performance Agreement) which gave greater certainly to the planning process and enabled a swifter completion schedule.
The finished building occupies a compact triangular site adjacent to the existing school building, housing the required additional teaching space, providing high quality facilities to match the ethos of the Academy and the Skills for Life Trust.
