Partners in progress, Ciaran Dance

Partners in progress Ciaran Dance describes a case-study from masterplan to completion

Farringtons School is an independent co-educational school for children from Year 3 up to Sixth Form and the current School intake stands at 700 pupils. The original school building dates from 1911, but its layout and functionality has been compromised by a number of pragmatic but not ideal refurbishment projects over the years. The School asked BHM to undertake a master planning exercise to identify shortfalls in the School’s facilities and inefficiencies in the arrangement of the existing accommodation. The master plan generated design solutions to accommodate the existing pupil numbers and provide new facilities to meet the School’s educational responsibilities, whilst highlighting their aspirations to enhance certain facilities.

The masterplan concluded that a number of teaching departments did not have adequate sizes or quantities of classrooms and that not all of the taught subjects were departmentalised. The most effective way of resolving this was to take a teaching department satisfying these criteria out of the main School building and to rehouse it elsewhere on campus in purpose-built facilities. This would enable the remaining departments to be rearranged and expanded into the vacated space. The removal of the largest department, Mathematics, was identified as the key. Since there was also under-provision for Science teaching facilities, rehousing Mathematics in an extended Science Block would allow a reorganisation of the rest of the main School building and enhance the facilities for two of the largest and most important teaching departments. Considerations on what form the extension would take were based on a number of specific criteria:

It was desirable to extend upwards rather than increasing the footprint onto grassed areas and the Maths department could be housed on the first floor; There would, however, have to be some increase in the existing footprint to accommodate a new Approved Document Part M compliant passenger lift; To provide inclusive access to both floors with the Maths department housed at first floor level and also safe means of escape, two stairs would be needed, which should ideally be positioned at opposite ends of the building; Investigations of the existing foundations revealed it would be necessary to construct the first floor extension from lightweight materials to avoid their reinforcement through underpinning; A precast planked floor construction would be both quick to install and provide instant protection to the occupied accommodation below, the required fire protection between floors, and a safe working platform for the contractor to progress the first floor works.

Before…and after.

A number of proposals were drawn up with the final design evolving out of the criteria above. The construction method was a primary driver in the final look of the building, but consideration was also given to ensuring that the palette of materials was reflective of those already found on the surrounding buildings. Respect was also paid to the site adjacent, in which it is proposed to house a new Performing Arts Centre in a later phase of the masterplan. As a result, the extension was at the southern end of the existing building, with a new first floor over the entire footprint.

It would be necessary to remove the existing ‘W’ roof construction and the gable at the southern end of the building, and to cut back part of the tiled portico link to accommodate the new first floor. Although the site is free from any significant change in level, both of the existing main entrances had stepped access, which needed to be replaced by new level and ramped access thresholds. In addition to the minor demolition, there was some rerouting of the existing services running around the building and under the footprint of the new extension, partly to

provide improved ancillary and support accommodation such as Science Prep rooms, staff offices, stores, and pupil and staff WCs.

The impact on the School during the construction process could be minimised through careful consideration of the methods and management of construction during the project. Accordingly, advice from potential principal contractors was sought during the scheme design stage and their advice informed the detailed design.

The final design is a contemporary building, complementing the neighbouring buildings, that is functional as a teaching facility and is also both sustainable and energy efficient. The elevations are a limited palette of materials. The existing building retained its brickwork elevations and the new extension on the south was constructed in a stock brick to match. The entire new first floor was a lightweight metal framework with a coloured render finish. Windows and doors were designed to match those of the existing areas. The use of ‘green’ or sustainable technologies was of prime importance to the School brief and so the floor, walls and roof were highly insulated to keep the building warm in the winter and cool in the summer, minimising the heating and cooling load. The heating for the new first floor was a wet underfloor heating system and the new areas of the building were designed to be naturally ventilated using opening windows and natural stack ventilation expelling through the roof. The lighting system was also important for the energy consumption of the building, with energy efficient fittings on PIR automatic switches and sensor controls used.

The final element of the works was the development of the external space though the introduction of new hard landscaped pathways and external lighting. Ramps serve the two main entrances on the north and south elevations, with carefully controlled external lighting to provide safe access around the exterior of the buildings.

The construction work commenced in July 2015 and was completed in May 2016. The start date was determined by the eight week summer holiday being the only long period in the school year when the building is not in use. The works were carefully designed to use construction techniques that would allow the removal of the existing roof and southern gable and installation of the first floor plate over these weeks. By the time the School returned in September, the construction was far enough advanced to allow teaching to continue in the building while the works to construct the first floor continued above them. This negated the need for costly temporary accommodation which would also require further planning permission to be sought. Ciaran Dance joined BHM in 1999 and became an Associate in 2004

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Accolades for young playwright

Felsted School student, Shirley Nannono Senabulya, has had a play shortlisted in the National Theatre’s prestigious ‘New Views’ competition.

Shirley’s play, ‘Bag of Bones’ was selected as one of the top ten nationally to be performed as a rehearsed reading at The National Theatre in London, directed by the Theatre Staff Director and performed by actors from the National Theatre Company. Shirley joined the actors and director in the rehearsal room, before viewing the rehearsed reading with her friends and family on 6th July.

‘Bag of Bones’ has already been performed as a rehearsed reading at Felsted School’s own Hunt Theatre, with Felsted students making up the cast, crew and audience to help Shirley refine her piece ready for its London debut.

Shirley’s play was highly praised by the panel of judges, who described it as “a brilliant concept” where “every character has a real journey”.

Speaking about her success, Shirley comments: “I am so overwhelmed, I wasn’t expecting to get this far and it is such an honour to receive recognition for my work.”