energy/environment
Sheffield secondary benefits from combined heating and lighting system
J
UST over a year ago, Sheffield Council and the Mercia Learning Trust embarked on an ambitious, £25m new secondary school and sixth form building for 11-18 year olds in the Bannerdale area of south-west Sheffield. Announcing the project, Mercia Learning Trust commented: “The offer of Mercia School will be very different. We intend it to be a traditional school with its culture rooted in exceptionally high behavioural standards and an academic curriculum which celebrates mastery of knowledge.”
install solution.
The build was approved in April 2017 and completed in September 2018. Architect Bond Bryan’s vision for Mercia School was to have clean, uncluttered spaces conducive to a positive and academically rigorous teaching and learning environment. The contractor, BAM Construction, was tasked with selecting contractors and solutions which adhered to this vision and would supply the necessary functions needed in the building whilst not detracting from the idea of a clean, productive learning space. The electrical specialist’s project brief set out some specific requirements and challenges: their installations had to be aligned aesthetically to the building; they had to save space and not disrupt the learning environment; and they had to be cost efficient, easy to install and easy to maintain. They also had to be energy efficient and reduce the school’s carbon footprint.
Educational excellence was the common theme that ran throughout the project brief, ensuring that the school would provide an optimal space for learning, development and achievement. All contractors and building products were chosen with this aim in mind, meaning that every aspect of the build would adhere to these high standards and contribute to the enhanced learning environment. Zehnder’s multi-service foil, developed with lighting specialists Whitecroft Lighting, provided the ideal solution for the school’s science classrooms, combining heating, lighting and acoustic services within one easy-to-
44
educationdab.co.uk
Over 200 foil radiant luminaires were installed in the science classrooms. The ergonomic furniture design in the classroom resulted in a lack of space for heating services against the wall. Thus, integrating both the heating and acoustic services into a single lighting feature ensured an uncluttered space matching the teaching and learning environment that had been envisaged by both the architect and the Mercia Learning Trust, to support the vision and values of the school.
The multi-service foil has been jointly engineered with lighting specialists Whitecroft Lighting, as a specialist solution for educational facilities and commercial spaces. The foil’s integrated design is unlike any other solution on the market, combining all the best features of energy efficient heating and cooling, lighting and acoustics. Other services
such as speakers, fire alarms, sprinklers and smoke detectors can also be easily incorporated into the design. The product also boasts a double activation feature that ensures heating and cooling performance is maximised. The panel contains perforation on either side of the lighting aperture, meaning sound absorption is optimised and acoustic performance is considered , which is of prime importance in learning environments. Martin Sibley, BAM Construction, commented: “This project revolved around quality, precision and efficiency, so it was vital that every aspect contributed directly to the aim of creating an optimal environment for academic excellence. Having a combined heating and lighting solution allowed us to meet requirements in terms of efficiency, space-savings, ease of installation and cost management, so using the multi- service foil was a simple choice to make.”
www.zehnder.co.uk
www.whitecroftlighting.com
www.bam.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49
