Refurbishment & Retrofit. . . . . . 26

Software company benefits from Mitsubishi Electric solutions

LEADING CLOUD-BASED SOFTWARE COMPANY SOFTWARE EUROPE HAS MARKED ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY WITH AN OVERHAUL OF THE BUILDING SERVICES AT ITS LINCOLN HEADQUARTERS THANKS TO A NEW, FINANCED PACKAGE FROM MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC.

The head office was running a 15year-old air handling unit (AHU) with a Gas fired LTHW coil and a DX chiller coil ducted air system. But the parts were obsolete and failing, and there was poor temperature control in the building.

Business Support Assistant Fiona Jenks says: “You couldn’t regulate the old system. It was a nightmare, as it was usually too cold or too hot. We really struggled for quite a few years, and some of the parts were obsolete, so we felt that it was time to make the change”.

The company took advantage of MELFinance to avoid burdening their cash flow with the up-front cost of the project.

“We felt the finance terms were good,” says Jenks. “When we compared the terms to a loan, it didn’t beat the quote we had from MELFinance”. Shane Suter, Corporate Operations & MELFinance Manager for Mitsubishi Electric says the offering is a better way for many companies to pay for new projects. “MELFinance has been running since January 2014 and Software Europe was the first £100k plus project we have done. We have given customers more choice and offered different ways of funding their projects”

Mitsubishi Electric – Enquiry 41

INNOVATIVE RAINWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW

WE WERE HERE TO HELP YOU’D BE GUTTED.

UNIFOLD® from Ampteam. Another clever product designed to protect.

Ampteam have created a family of innovative products that combat the ever increasing deluge of bad weather we have in the UK. A knowledge based organisation with over 100 years of cumulative technical experience our products are manufactured from the highest quality materials, add all this together and that makes Ampteams products the best on the market today.

UNIFOLD® , the superior gutter lining system manufactured from the highest quality materials is guaranteed for 25 years, with a life span in excess of 50 years. Made from EPDM membrane it is manufactured in 2.8 metre lengths that are easily handled so installation is both quick and easy. UNIFOLD® is installed by a nationwide network of Approved Contractors.

If you’re concerned about the potential damage caused by poor guttering Ampteam will take that worry away with extensive technical advice and expertise, and if required a site survey where our aim is to make sure you are getting the right product doing the right job for a long time to come.

For free technical and friendly advice please call 01384 252777 More technical data and product animations can be found at www.gutterliners.com Alternatively please email us at unifold@ampteam.co.uk

Weatherproof your business once and for all.

Cooking up a career in catering

ORPINGTON’S NEW CATERING-FOCUSED CAREER COLLEGE, DESIGNED TO PROVIDE VOCATIONALLY-FOCUSED PROGRAMMES FOR 14-19 YEAR OLDS, EXEMPLIFIES THE VALUE OF GREAT DESIGN IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR

The significance of design and architecture in schools and colleges has come a long way since I was in short trousers. Without wanting to give away my age, when my Victorianbuilt school needed more space, they’d dump down a couple of Portakabins and we’d make do with that.

But now there is increasing recognition that factors such as the space, the light and even colour schemes can have an effect on student behaviour and attainment. And of course environments aimed at large numbers of children and teenagers need to be ultra durable, simple to maintain and fully accessible.

From a programming point of view, work needs to be scheduled around the academic calendar, with the most disruptive elements focused on frenzied bursts of activity during holidays. During term time, logistics and safety aspects are hugely complicated by the fact that construction is taking place within an operating school. A less appreciated factor is that school and college sites have often evolved in a fairly ad hoc way, piecemeal over time. From an aesthetic point of view, they very rarely offer consistency or coherence in design.

Pretty much all these considerations have come into play for Bromley-based integrated architectural, property and construction consultancy Pellings through its various recent and on-going projects for Bromley College of Further and Higher Education.

The College is based across two campus sites at Bromley and neighbouring Orpington. Recent refurbishment and expansion projects at the Bromley campus include the Nido Volans Centre which provides specialist facilities for young people with complex learning difficulties and disabilities, a new sports hall and gymnasium, re-provision of an engineering faculty, a new business centre and learning resource centre. help to link the campus’ various components. Additionally a large glazed rotunda forms a bold entrance and acts as a 'beacon' after dark, creating a strong visual link with the local community. The new buildings work in harmony with the external spaces to deliver a modern, high quality commercial environment, intended to reflect the innovative curriculum delivered by the college.

Currently Pellings is working at the Orpington campus, which is establishing a Career College. Bromley College is a pioneer of this new concept in education. Career Colleges are designed to increase the range and choice of opportunities open to 14–19 year olds. They will provide accelerated vocationally-focused programmes alongside core academic work. The premise is they will be equipped to the highest standards and staffed by expert teachers in academic and vocational subjects. Just as importantly, they will provide clear progression routes into higher education, apprenticeships, further education and above all, work. ▲

Bromley College approached Pellings in late 2013 to design the new college, which is to focus on vocational training in hospitality and catering.

Work includes establishing production and training kitchens, learning spaces and classrooms and a student-led restaurant open to the public.

The project is being taken forward in two phases. The first provides a training restaurant, open to the public; a production kitchen; a training kitchen for up to 18 students; and ancillary spaces including staff and student changing facilities and student common room.

With a contract value of £1.2m the project started on site in June 2014 with sectional completion in October 2014 and final completion in January of this year.

The second phase of the development, now underway, is targeted for completion in 2016. This will provide a further training kitchen, a pastry kitchen, a café with barista-style bar, a small retail area and a pavement dining area facing Market Square – which the campus currently backs onto.

The new catering facility is in effect, a college within a college and is designed to operate separately both educationally and physically. With this focus, says Pellings’ architect Andrew Tang, “we considered it important that the restaurant be sited fronting onto Market Square allowing the Career College to distinguish itself from the main college and to present a completely separate public face.”

Market Square is an under-utilised public space but the immediate area is undergoing a programme of redevelopment with a new residential development and cinema complex currently under construction. The Career College with its public restaurant, and ultimately a café and shop, contributes to this improvement of the public realm. It should help bring new life to the area and of course provide that all-important real-world front of house experience for the students.

The designs for both the production and training kitchens are the result of an extensive collaborative process involving Pellings, a hospitality and catering vocational training advisor and a specialist catering equipment supplier.

In developing the concept, says Tang, the team looked at other catering facilities and an important realization from this exercise was most educational training kitchens are not representative of what is found in industry. “In particular the concept of flow is vital in commercial kitchens,” says Tang. “Not just in and around the kitchen itself, but between the production kitchen and the restaurant and the kitchen and the storage space – and this became a key design criteria.” The resulting layout of each kitchen was carefully developed based on its specific function with the emphasis on visibility, accessibility and the activity flow common to successful commercial kitchens.

The majority of the works involved refurbishment of the existing college buildings, mainly within what was originally a school hall. Pellings achieved efficient use of space by adding a mezzanine floor, with the upper level creating space for HVAC and power plant.

An added complication for the project stemmed from the fact that the first full student intake will start at the college in the September, but the college needed to be able to show prospective students around the facility from Autumn last year.

This meant certain elements, especially the training kitchen facilities, had to be in place early. This required some elements of “window dressing”, for instance the need for a temporary air-handling unit on the roof of the adjacent building until the permanent kit could be installed within the mezzanine floor.

The only new build elements of the scheme are two extensions to the existing college building connected to the training restaurant. The extensions increase the area of the training restaurant while also providing much needed natural light. The smaller extension serves as a formal entrance to the restaurant and houses a Stannah platform lift to facilitate access.

The extensions are of steel framed construction, concrete ground bearing slabs, aluminium framed curtain walling with Trespa decorative facias, and flat roofs with a Bauder single ply membrane. Unlike the kitchen areas, the restaurant is a naturally ventilated space with new actuated louvre panels introduced into the existing building façade at low level and a penthouse ventilation unit installed in the roof of the new extension.

Educational copper

WITH AN INCREASING DIVERSITY OF ARCHITECTURAL SURFACES, COPPER IS GROWING IN POPULARITY WITH SCHOOL DESIGNERS, AS COPPER PRODUCER AURUBIS ILLUSTRATES WITH THREE CASE STUDIES.

Corrugated Nordic Brown preoxidised copper defines the character of a new secondary school in Strømmen, Norway, and is reminiscent of the town’s industrial heritage. White Arkitekter’s competition-winning design is a rigorous interpretation of its programme. Conceived as a hilltop plateau, the entrance level is open in character with extensive full-height glazing. Floating above is a more introverted copper box, housing all the classrooms and related spaces.

Copper satisfies the client’s requirement for a 100-year lifespan school and its sustainability credentials are important in this low-energy building. But the unique visual characteristics of the corrugated Nordic Brown copper proved central to the design, both as a thoroughly contemporary material changing over time and as a reminder of the riverside sawmills and heavy industries in the town.

Variable Pre-oxidisation

Nordic Brown products are pre-oxidised at Aurubis’ factory to give straightaway the same oxidised brown surface that otherwise develops over time in the environment. The thickness of the oxide layer determines the colour - either Nordic Brown Light or the darker Nordic Brown –and the darkening oxidisation process continues in the natural environment. Nordic Brown, combined with copper alloys, also forms part of a wave-form brise soleil on London’s Holland Park School designed by Aedas. The west facade is defined by a series of vertical fins - each clad in Nordic Brown, Nordic Brass or Nordic Bronze which combine to take on a strong, dynamic three-dimensional character. The mix of copper and its alloys gives a natural richness, with timeless yet contemporary qualities, as well as delivering longevity and minimising maintenance.

Vertical fins proved more effective in controlling glare while maximising daylight on this facade. A soft, sine wave curve was developed for their profiles, which gives an organic feel reflecting the nearby mature trees. The Nordic Brown, Nordic Brass and Nordic Bronze fins are thin in section, minimising the impact on views from inside the building. But their depth acts as an effective barrier to glare and unwanted solar gain from afternoon sunshine.

Golden Coloured Alloy

Also in London, another copper alloy – Nordic Royal – characterises The Deptford Lounge, a state-of-the-art public library and Primary School, designed by Pollard Thomas Edwards architects. Here, rigid folded cassettes of Nordic Royal provide sharp, clean joints between clearly defined panels that are set-out in a stretcher bond pattern, referencing historic timber hull construction in ship-building associated with Deptford. Different levels of perforation are used so that the transparency of the wrapping adds another dimension with the play of light.

Nordic Royal is an alloy of copper and aluminium with a long-lasting golden colour. Other Aurubis architectural surfaces include Nordic Standard ‘mill finish’, as well as Nordic Green and Nordic Blue factoryapplied patinas - developed with properties and colours based on the same brochantite mineralogy found in natural patinas all over the world. Aurubis is part of the world’s leading integrated copper group and largest copper recycler. For more information visit: www.aurubis.com or email: g.bell@aurubis.com

Deptford Lounge

Holland Park School

Presence of mind…

VIRGINIA HARRIS, SCOTTISH SALES AND SPECIFICATION EXECUTIVE FROM GERFLOR, ON WHY HAVING A LARGE PRESENCE IN THE EDUCATION MARKET IS KEY.

The challenges in ensuring you choose the right flooring product for the host of applications in the education marketplace can be a minefield. Selecting the right manufacturer who can deliver an array of solutions will be very key in ensuring the correct environment for students and staff is attained.

As the student numbers in the UK increase some classrooms may struggle to provide suitable space, which will have a knock-on effect on performance and results unless extra space can be sourced. Any flooring will also be major contributor in providing a safe and secure element of the space required.

In considering the landscape of school design in the UK’s build environment we must take heed of the socio-economic, political, architectural and spacial differences that already exist which can govern the progress and in some cases even restrain the development of our educational establishments.

Other than the design a floor can very often be functional as it may have to perform to certain standards as laid down by local and national government. Gerflor’s Taraflex™ sports flooring has a special slip and grab surface treatment that helps minimize sprained ankles. It’s a perfect example where a floor that’s specifically made for purpose is in fact fit properly for purpose.

Nav Dhillon, Marketing Manager, Gerflor commented: “New builds can allow schools to future proof themselves. It ensures the building can accommodate the latest trends in teaching, technology, communal areas and sports halls but only if they’re planned correctly using a company that has the proper products and market presence.”

Making full use of a manufacturer’s range of products is key. At Gerflor their ranges are as subtle as they are varied. It’s a head-on clash

of product meeting the needs precisely and exactly with an on-going level of flair and innovation. The constraints of hygiene, resistance and acoustic qualities are of course part of the mandatory characteristics for this sector.

As an RIBA report stated: “we need to lay the foundations for inspiring environments for our children to thrive in.” And the proper, fit for purpose flooring is a pivotal part of that mix. Flooring throughout any school or college needs to be completed with the best flooring products the school or college can afford. Anything less is false economy.

New school benefits from the Sunesis and Mitsubishi Electric approach

WHEN WARWICKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL WAS LOOKING TO AMALGAMATE TWO LOCAL SCHOOLS INTO ONE NEW BUILDING AND NEEDED ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY OVER BOTH THE BUILD COST AND PROGRAMME, THEY TURNED TO THE ‘OFF-THE-SHELF’ SOLUTION OFFERED BY THE UNIQUE SUNESIS FORMULA.

Created as a joint venture between Scape and Willmott Dixon, Sunesis is an innovative approach to fixed-cost construction which delivers buildings for the public sector with speed, simplicity and certainty. The process also includes the latest renewable heating system from Mitsubishi Electric which will now help safeguard the school’s monthly energy costs.

The new £3.9 million Arley Primary School, near Nuneaton has been built at Gun Hill, on the site of the current infant school, amalgamating it with nearby Herbert Fowler Junior School.

It will take in a maximum of 315 children, 45 in each year group, from the villages of Ansley and Old and New Arley, and provides a wonderful learning environment for the community.

The school has been built using the Keynes model from the Sunesis Education range of standardised, yet personalisable designs and comprises 11 classrooms, a hall, catering kitchen, staffroom and offices, as well as an outdoor play area.

“The Sunesis process provides high quality, modern designs delivered on average 12 months faster and 30 per cent cheaper than market alternatives,” explains Tim Carey, Product Director for Willmott Dixon, the construction partner – alongside Scape, the public sector procurement specialists –behind the ‘off-the-shelf’ building concept.

“All local authorities are under increasing pressure to save money, so this system is helping to reduce the cost of building new schools.”

The inclusion of three Ecodan CAHV monobloc air source heat pumps will provide all the heating and hot water that the school requires, with the Ecodan heating system operating effectively in ambient temperatures of -20ºC to 40ºC making it ideal for use all year round.

“The inclusion of the Ecodan means that the school only needs about half the plant room required for a traditional gas or oil fired system, which not only saves on the building costs but also frees up valuable additional space for education provision,” adds Carey.

For every 1kW of electricity used to power an Ecodan CAHV air source heat pump, up to 3.2kW of heat can be delivered to the building; 69% of which is renewable energy, which also means that the school now qualifies for the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive. This will see Arley Primary School receive regular quarterly payments for the next 20 years.

The Sunesis formula also provides absolute guarantees on quality, costs and timescales, whilst meeting legal OJEU (the Official Journal of the European Union) requirements. This is the publication in which all tenders from the public sector which are valued above a certain financial threshold must be published.

As a joint venture, Sunesis is built on the combined experience of public sector knowhow and private expertise through the combination of Scape (which is owned by local authorities and ensures Sunesis is OJEU compliant) and construction specialists Willmott Dixon (one of the most recognised and trusted brands in the built environment). Authorities are able to choose the building they want from a range of five individual school designs, and personalise each one to suit their individual needs from a range of pre-costed options.

Mark Robinson, Group Chief Executive at Scape, adds: “The beauty of this approach is that the Local Authority knows exactly what it is getting, when it will be delivered and how much it will cost, right from the start of the process. In an era of increasing accountability, Sunesis provides councils with viable options which allow them to improve their learning spaces and deliver value for money, without compromising on standards.”

In 2012, Warwickshire County Council was the first local authority in the UK to use a Sunesis design for Oakfield Primary School’s new building in Rugby. Launched in 2011, Sunesis has delivered more than £25m worth of schools to date, with a further £22m underway. The Sunesis Primary school range also includes the Newton, Paxton and Dewey models, with other offerings tailored for the Leisure and Care sectors.

Mitsubishi Electric – Enquiry 50

Expona Flow flooring adds impact to school dining hall

Expona Flow PUR sheet vinyl flooring from Polyflor was chosen by Broad Oak Primary School in Didsbury, Manchester. The eye catching Reclaimed Chevron 9830 design from the Expona Flow PUR range was installed in the school’s canteen area. Expona Flow collection of heavy commercial sheet vinyl flooring features 50 wood, stone and abstract designs in a 2 metre wide sheet format with a 2mm gauge and a 0.7mm wear layer. Polysafe Vogue Ultra PUR, a heavy-duty safety flooring with a multichip decoration, was also installed in a corridor leading to the dining room.

Polyflor –Enquiry 53

Ideal Commercial Boilers put energy savings in the bank at infant & nursery school

Three Imax Xtra 400kW floor standing condensing boilers from Ideal Commercial Boilers have been installed in the plant room serving Banks Lane Infant & Nursery School, Stockport. Not only are the Imax Xtra boilers providing reliable heating with greatly reduced carbon emissions, they are saving the council 35% in their energy bills as a result of their high efficiency. The Imax Xtra was integrated with a modern Trend BMS system using the volt free contacts that comes as standard with each Imax Xtra model.

Ideal Commercial Boilers –Enquiry 56

Contour Casings takes a lead role in improving UK classroom hygiene

An innovative antimicrobial coating agent has succeeded in wiping out almost all bacteria that are usually present in classrooms, according to the results of a recent trial.

The agent, incorporated into a coating developed by BioCote® Partners, managed to eliminate almost 96% of the bacteria normally found in a classroom, compared to an untreated control classroom that was also set up for the purpose of the trial study.

Contour Casings, a leading manufacturer of LST radiators and radiator guards, and a long standing BioCote partner, was a lead participant in the study. As well as showing that the treated classroom had almost no bacteria on its many surface areas, the study specifically revealed that Contour’s radiator guards carried 90.54% fewer microbes compared to radiator guards in the untreated classroom.

All Contour LST radiator guards - a product of choice for many education sector specifiers incorporate the BioCote coating in their ‘final finish’ as standard. This coating remains effective for the lifetime of the guards.

A lower incidence of microbes in classrooms exposes children to fewer avoidable illnesses, thereby helping to reduce school absenteeism. This not only aids childrens’ immediate education but helps reduce the time-off so often required by parents to nurse sick children.

Contour Casings –Enquiry 55

Academy access improved with TORMAX

Vastly improving student access and ensuring the smooth flow of foot traffic at all times, TORMAX has retrofitted seven sets of their ground-breaking iMotion 1301 automatic operators to existing swing doors throughout Thomas Deacon Academy, Peterborough. Contributing to DDA-compliance, TORMAX low-energy door drives are cost-effective in the long term, combining outstanding reliability with minimal maintenance. TORMAX secured the contract to automate a number of key internal swing doors located throughout the school buildings. Designed in-house at the head offices in Switzerland, TORMAX iMotion motors have been cleverly engineered without the elements that generally wear out over time, such as gears and brushes. This ensures outstanding reliability, low maintenance requirements and also one of the best life expectancies on the market today. In addition, an intelligent micro-processor control system ensures permanent monitoring of door leaf movements. Door function is automatically adjusted and optimised if operating conditions change, for instance, through general wear and tear, a change in temperature or due to a build of dirt.

TORMAX –Enquiry 54

Smartply flame retardant OSB3 flooring paves the way for new students in Liverpool

SmartPly FR/FR Build OSB3 from Coillte Panel Products has been used as a flame retardant flooring solution within a new seven-storey, timber frame accommodation building for students of John Moores University and University of Liverpool. One thousand sheets of 18mm SmartPly FR/FR Build OSB3 panels to be used as the floors throughout all seven storeys.Datum selected SmartPly FR/FR Build OSB3 over conventional post-treated flame retardant wood panels due to its guaranteed consistency and excellent fire retardant properties. During manufacture, a water based, eco-friendly, fire retardant is added, ensuring fire performance throughout the panel.

Coillte Panel Products –Enquiry 57

Award winning school puts Senior’s Hybrid solutions to the test

The future is looking bright for the pupils of Lady Eleanor Holles school thanks to a modern school building that maximises the use of natural light through the use Senior Architectural Systems’ innovative range of Hybrid windows and curtain walling. The independent girls’ school in Middlesex, which won the RIBA London Award 2014, was designed by Walter & Cohen Architects to achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘excellent’. Featuring aluminium on the exterior to provide a durable and low maintenance solution and engineered timber on the interior for a natural look and feel, Senior’s Hybrid range perfectly complements the school’s use of timber design elements both inside and out.

Senior’s Hybrid series 3 curtain walling system and Hybrid series 2 frameless casement windows were installed to the main teaching block and art centre to give sweeping views across the playing fields. The Hybrid series 2 frameless casement windows provided the attractive seamless façade that the design team desired as well as giving impressive Uvalues and thermal performance.

Senior worked closely with leading fabricator Soundcraft to deliver the prestigious contract. For more information about Senior, visit www.seniorarchitectural.co.uk

Fire can kill

Fire retardant treatments for any construction material are designed to do a very important job. Should a fire situation arise in a building the protected materials will slow down combustion and limit the spread of flame and generation of smoke. They provide peace of mind for specifiers and suppliers by giving extra time to evacuate buildings, limit potential damage but, most importantly, they help save lives.

Therefore you need complete assurance that the fire protection given to your timber and panel products is everything you think it is. So how can you be sure that your fire retardant protected timbers are fully compliant?

Tried, Tested & Trusted

Arch Timber Protection offers two proven and industry approved pressure impregnated fire retardant treatments - DRICON and NON-COM Exterior - that will provide you with unrivalled confidence for the life of your specified timbers.

• Over 40 years commercial experience on major and award-winning building projects. • UK Wood Protection Association approved treatments. • Independently tested to give Euroclass Certification Reports for individual timber and plywood species and thicknesses. • Controlled and cost effective treatments from Arch’s own ISO 9001 accredited facilities.

To find out more visit www.archfiretreatments.co.uk

Arch Timber Protection –Enquiry 59

Hauraton drainage channels used at Penarth Learning Community School

Penarth Learning Community School, Cardiff, South Wales, comprises a mainstream comprehensive school with 1280 places, together with a Special Educational Needs (SEN) school, catering for 205 pupils with a wide spectrum of learning needs including those with learning and physical difficulties and those on the autism spectrum. Together with a learning facility, there is also a 1500 m² residential home, allowing 19 pupils to stay over at any one time to provide respite to their families. With the site being quite flat and the new buildings’ surrounded by block paved areas and asphalted surfaces, it was essential rainwater is drained effectively. Two Hauraton systems were chosen to drain surface water: RECYFIX PRO fitted with FIBRETEC® C250, HEELSAFE 9mm slot gratings for the asphalted yards and car park and RECYFIX STANDARD SLOTTED CHANNELS fitted with symmetrical galvanised steel covers. Once installed this system provides an unobtrusive, narrow line of slots in the paved surfaces. Steve Wiseman, Hauraton‘s Project Engineer comments; “By using two types of channel the overall appearance of the block pavements and asphalted surfaces was enhanced with the drainage requirement fully met”. For full Case Study go to www.drainage-projects.co.uk

Hauraton –Enquiry 60

ELCO boilers installed at state-of-the-art National Graphene Institute

Three highly efficient R600 gas-fired floor standing boilers from ELCO UK have been installed at the new National Graphene Institute (NGI) at the University of Manchester. The tight footprint of the build was a determining factor in specifying the units, with the R600 range economical on its space requirements. The unit has dimensions ranging from 1105mm to 1735mm long by 670mm or 770mm wide, allowing the boilers to pass through a standard door. The units will supply highly efficient heating and hot water services to the facility.

ELCO –Enquiry 62

www.enquire.to/spec - ENQUIRY 63