John Perryn School, Acton

Two-storey precast concrete frame

Project description

The project incorporated a primary school and a Sure Start children’s centre, creating a welcoming site with a strong civic presence. It is designed to allow access by a variety of users without compromising pupil or staff security. The school is arranged over two floors to create a compact, light-filled building that frees up much-needed site area.

The project was a Pathfinder scheme for the DfES Primary Capital Programme and thus was required to meet high educational, environmental and design targets.

Construction

A precast concrete panel wall and slab system allowed for rapid construction and a high quality, durable exposed internal finish. Phased construction ensured that the school remained fully functional throughout the site-works. The prefabricated concrete panel system was fast and economical, and reduced programme time and waste without jeopardising future internal flexibility. The precast frame was constructed by Buchan in just 35 working days on-site.

The existing school building on the site was demolished after the new school was completed.

The concrete benefits

Solid concrete walls and exposed ceiling soffits provide thermal mass for the building which is enhanced by the use of night-time cooling, cross ventilation and high levels of daylighting. The building design achieves a 33 per cent reduction in CO2 over the current building regulations requirements. Ninety per cent of the demolished school building was recycled or reused on site.

BREEAM rating: Very Good

Project team

Architect: Penoyre & Prasad
Engineer: WYG
Contractor: Willmott Dixon Construction