COVER STORY INNOVARÉ SYSTEMS
ASSURED PERFORMANCE FOR SCHOOL DESIGN
As Innovaré Systems has proven with its i-SIP and i-FAST systems, the speed and flexibility of offsite construction makes it an ideal fit for education, delivering better outcomes for school projects and especially for SEN learners. their way around the school can be fully met. The ideal design can then be turned into reality in the shortest possible time and with controllable costs with more certainty of outcomes. What Learners Need The most important requirements for SEN learners are flexibility of use, minimising distractions and structured learning spaces. Natural lighting and ventilation also improve the learning environment. Panelised offsite methods offer designers significant benefits, freedoms and opportunities, including:
1 Panelised systems such as i-SIP and i-FAST deliver projects rapidly and reliably with guaranteed quality and performance levels. When it comes to the particular demands of SEN school building programmes, panelised offsite has even more to offer. The maximum benefits are realised through the integrated design and manufacturing process made possible by the technology. This offers enormous flexibility to designers, architects and SEN learning specialists to shape the ideal learning environment. Talking about flexibility might seem a bit counter-intuitive. Offsite to many people can mean the design and layout must be based system constraints and creativity is limited. But, when the technology is deployed using a collaborative process, designers have access to many more possibilities. 6
Panelised offsite can offer large spans and flexible internal layouts. Thermal and acoustic performance levels are built into the panels and there’s guaranteed buildability. This brings new opportunities to design school buildings that meet specific needs, which is what creating effective SEN learning environments is all about. SEN is a wide-ranging term. It encompasses a diverse group of learners with very specific needs. Meeting those needs calls for unique solutions in terms of the design, layout and construction of each SEN school with its own learner community. The digital design and manufacturing process used by the i-SIP and i-FAST systems means SEN experts and design engineers can be fully engaged in the spatial planning process. The ideal layout of learning spaces and the need for students to easily navigate
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• Structural capacity to support wall and roof-hung equipment • Flexibility of layout for improved access and movement space • Clear spans for future adaptability • Optimised thermal comfort for health and wellbeing • Enhanced acoustics for reduced disturbance • Robustness against accidental damage. Schools should be neither too hot nor too cold. The right building fabric choices along with design flexibility ensure that these conditions can be maintained with minimal mechanical intervention. Along with good ventilation and natural lighting, these are the key ingredients for the health and wellbeing of students and staff. Classroom Acoustics Poor acoustics make learning hard work. Difficulty with oral communication also affects the quality of group working and student interactions. The learners most obviously affected are those with hearing or visual impairment. The added cognitive effort caused by poor acoustics also leads to problems for students with ADHD or ASD.
