22 EDUCATION
Material support for building future schools
AS WE ALL KNOW, EDUCATIONAL BUILDINGS ARE RIGHT AT THE TOP OF THE AGENDA FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AT THE MOMENT. JOHN RICHARDS, SALES AND MARKETING DIRECTOR AT IBSTOCK DISCUSSES WHY BRICK OFFERS THE MOST EFFECTIVE SOLUTION FOR CREATING SCHOOLS THAT HAVE A COMFORTABLE, WARM FEEL, AND PROVIDE AN INSPIRATIONAL AND WELCOMING LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.
T he ambitious Building Schools for the
Future (BSF) initiative is only a couple of years into its programme of creating 250 new schools a year up to 2020. However, it is already hitting controversy in the shape of budget overrun forecasts (£45 billion up to £55 billion) and design rejections by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment; by May 2009, 82 out of 187 designs submitted had been classed as mediocre or poor.
So while many designers, developers and local authorities are rushing in to benefit from the BSF funding programme, it is important that fundamental principles of good building design and construction are maintained to ensure a long useful life for the investment.
Achieving excellent sustainability credentials and meeting Building Regulations are prerequisites and fundamental when it comes to ensuring low lifetime costs and high energy efficiency. Use of suitable materials, which can deliver the required performance while remaining sympathetic to the design and the students’ needs, is therefore highly important.
Efficient Design
Long term durability and low maintenance are very important construction criteria for schools.
Brick’s inherent long term durability ensures low maintenance requirements, despite the ravages of sun, wind and rain. Its low lifetime costs represent great value to education authorities who have to operate the schools against tight budgets.
In addition, incorporating structural materials with high thermal mass is a proven way of boosting energy efficiency, especially where school interiors are based on versatile open spaces with expanses of glazing and metal frames.
Brick’s 21st century credentials as a highly sustainable building material are firmly entrenched. Its high density and heat capacity provide an excellent thermal mass, which smoothes out temperature fluctuations and reduces heating and air conditioning requirements.
Its mass and construction detail also provide high acoustic insulation and low sound transmission, both highly important in a school interior.
These are reasons why many designers are considering brick as a key material for new educational buildings from primary schools through to universities and colleges.
Modern Material
The versatility of brick as a material not only lends itself to modern methods of construction, including off site and prefabricated techniques, it can also be used to create unique design
features. These can include shapes, sculptures and even play features, while changes in texture and colour can be used to break up large expanses of wall and shape, as well as merging with landscaping features.
A typical new primary school to incorporate extensive brick construction is the Upper Meadows Primary School, Northampton. The first UK school to achieve an ‘excellent’ BREEAM assessment, the building utilises a wide range of materials and contrasts with many variations in brickwork, shape and colour. Architects, Johnson Design Partnership, created it as an exciting and engaging centre piece of a new development.
At the other end of the educational scale, new student accommodation on the Endcliffe Campus at the University of Sheffield used pre- assembled brick panels as part of a contemporary construction project. The high efficiency design emphasised the sustainability of the materials, while conforming to the context of the conservation area in which it was located.
Schools of the Future The BSF programme will continue to accomplish the much needed redevelopment of our school building stock by 2020. However, we should obtain full value from the size of the investment by using durable materials with high sustainability and low maintenance requirements that will stand the test of time; for which brick is an ideal candidate.
Maybe more importantly, brick creates buildings that are inviting and that inspire creativity in children and teachers, making the educational experience a far more productive and exciting time for all.
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