Faber Maunsell has completed its multidisciplinary role in the first phase of the £320million Sheffield BSF schools investment programme.
The first stage of the programme which is set to provide every secondary school in the city with a radical refurbishment by 2013 has seen the completion of Yewlands, and the final stages of construction for Silverdale, Newfield, and Talbot Special Educational Needs (SEN).
Working as part of the Sheffield Local Education Partnership (LEP) – a partnership between Sheffield City Council (SCC), Taylor Woodrow and Partnerships for Schools (BSF Investments) – Faber Maunsell has been involved as part of the private sector consortium led by Taylor Woodrow.
With many years of experience in the education sector Faber Maunsell has drawn on its depth of resource and knowledge of working at the leading edge of sustainable technologies to provide building services and civil and structural engineering design, as well as consultancy advice in acoustics and highways, BREEAM, fire and risk, ecology, advanced security, part L modelling and flood risk assessments.
Classrooms reflect the latest thinking in sustainable design, fitted with intelligent lighting, heating, and ventilation systems plus highly serviced power and data provision, essentially future proofing the teaching facilities to counter changes in fluctuating pupil numbers. It is estimated that the schools will serve a projected population of almost 25,500 pupils.
As part of the building design process Faber Maunsell utilised the new IES Part L modelling software to ensure the optimum performance of services designed to deliver greater CO2 efficiency. This approach ultimately contributed to the BREEAM Very Good rating.
Paul Brumpton, project manager of the BSF at Faber Maunsell’s Leeds office said: “This has been a challenging project and one which Faber Maunsell had the level of educational experience to deliver effectively and efficiently on such a large scale.
“By measuring and limiting the environmental impacts made by the schools, sustainable design features have been incorporated throughout the build programme. Ecological and flood risk assessments have also been undertaken which have engendered a host of environmentally efficient features including bio diverse roofing on all the main teaching blocks, sustainable storm water attenuation using swales to alleviate loading on existing sewers, rain water harvesting and recycling for irrigation.
“We are dedicated to providing the education sector with innovative design solutions to enhance the performance of school buildings and are very pleased to have had the opportunity to put our capabilities to the test!”