building fabric


system for Eastern High School, a new super school to serve the community of Trowbridge, Cardiff. The school - a cutting-edge, £25 million


External sheathing board delivers flexibility S


INIAT, a group within the Etex Building Performance company, has developed a bespoke drylining


‘super school’ for 1,500 pupils - is being jointly funded by Cardiff Council and the Welsh government as part of the 21st Century Schools programme and has just opened for its first intake. Deteriorating school buildings are being replaced with a new joint learning campus, bringing together pupils from the existing Eastern High School in Rumney and Cardiff and Vale College. Siniat worked with project architects


Powell Dobson, main contractor Willmott Dixon and installation subcontractor M&P throughout the scheme to develop a highly durable and aesthetic design for the integrated school to minimise long- term operating costs, while inspiring generations of pupils to come. Powell Dobson set out to create a


striking design that the whole community could take pride in, designing in a prominent external curve. This impressive arc presented considerable construction challenges for the school’s external façade, as standard sheathing boards are too rigid to bend. However, Siniat’s Weather Defence board delivered both the durability and flexibility needed to fulfil the distinctive design, and it was curved around the concave façade to


create a weatherproof and airtight shell. Thanks to its specially formulated


gypsum core, Weather Defence can be left exposed on frame for up to 12 months during construction, quickly weather-proofing a structure to boost productivity on site. Barrie Jones, technical manager at Powell Dobson, said: “The nature of the fast program on the Eastern High School project meant that the envelope had to be watertight early in the process. We specified Weather


Defence board as a sheathing board to the envelope to allow the contractor to progress internal construction earlier than they would have originally been able, which has bought them valuable time.”


www.siniat.co.uk/en www.powelldobson.com/en www.willmottdixon.co.uk


School extension’s new roof blends in well M


ARLEY Eternit’s JB Western Red Cedar Shingles have been specified to clad a new extension


constructed to enlarge Flitch Green Academy in Essex. The extension has added three


additional classrooms and support spaces at the primary school as it accommodates a significant increase in pupil numbers on site. A key requirement for the design and


specification process was to ensure the new building would blend in seamlessly with the existing school structure. The specification of the Red Cedar Shingles as the roofing solution meant the colour selected would be sympathetic to the current shingle use on site as well as the surrounding buildings, while also providing a clean, refreshing and modern finish. Alex Larn, Commercial Director for


main contractor, Beardwell, says: “We needed to match the overall look seen on


the existing building as far as the roofing was concerned. Having worked with shingles on other smaller-sized projects we knew it would provide a perfect answer at Flitch Green. We tied the new extension into the existing roof structure and the Red Cedar Shingles were then used to cover approximately 300m2 to envelope the building. “On completion, the shingles provide an aesthetically pleasing finish that works


very well with the existing buildings and within the overall location. Construction was straightforward and the product is easy to work with. We expect the materials to offer great performance characteristics in the years ahead and they have been an ideal solution for Flitch Green Academy as the school welcomes increasing numbers of children.” Daniel Redfern, Marketing Executive –


Residential Roofing at Marley Eternit, adds: “Our JB Western Red Cedar Shingles are a renewable and sustainable roofing and cladding solution, with one of the lowest carbon footprints of any widely used building product. They also offer a high degree of thermal insulation and are an ideal match for a project like this where it is crucial the finished site blends seamlessly into its surroundings.”


www.marleyeternit.co.uk/shingles educationdab.co.uk 33


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