Led by Ashe Construction on behalf of Warwickshire County Council and through the EMPA (East Midlands Property Alliance) framework, the £2.7 million investment will make Aylesford Academy in Warwick the first combined secondary and primary school in Warwickshire.
Ashe got a bird’s eye view when they launched an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) drone to survey the construction of the new expansion.
Once associated with the military, aerial drones are finding their way into civilian life for commercial purposes. They now are beginning to play a vital role in the construction industry.
However, the aerial drone is not the only innovative technology that is steadily becoming prevalent in Education sector construction. The drone went up to capture images of the delivery of , an innovative infill system being installed to the steel frame by Innovaré Systems – Ashe’s specialist sub-contractor partner.
The school is one of 47 new schools Innovaré are manufacturing at present and is scheduled to open on time and on budget for a new influx of pupils in September 2015.
uses Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) to wrap the steel frame and deliver a quick watertight structure with a high performing thermal envelope and levels of airtightness. The technology also enables scaffold free erection, which saved massively on preliminary costs for Ashe. Aylesford Academy sees another successful application of Innovaré’s modern method of construction to a new Education build for reasons of energy efficiency, reduced cost and speed of construction.
Innovaré and Ashe worked with Scape Design who are experts in efficient construction techniques and methodologies with particular experience in public buildings and education.
This early collaboration enabled a quick design period to be achieved and Innovaré was able to provide insight on how to value engineer the steel frame in order to make the most out of the cost savings enabled by the product’s design.
Ashe on the other hand was able to receive a comprehensive service through Innovaré’s Complete Delivery programme, Innovaré being the only SIP manufacturer in the UK to design, engineer, manufacture, supply and install their own system – the panels used are made in their West Midlands specialist manufacturing facility.
Thermal modelling was used to design the details for the connections to the steel frame, with the panels able to significantly reduce any cold bridging caused by the conductive properties of the steel in a simple and cost-effective manner. 162mm thick panels used for the external walls achieved a U-value of 0.18W/m2.k and 206 mm panels used for the roof achieved a low 0.15W/m2.k.
Off-site manufacturing and on-site installation being simple and efficient meant using panels shortened the original programme from 5 weeks to 3 weeks, with over 750 sq. m of wall panel and 1,050 sq. m of roof panel installed.
The seven extra classrooms created will meet the rising demand for school places in the area in line with the area’s local plan, expanding the current 750 pupil secondary school so it can accommodate 1,000 by 2021.
Sheridan McKnight of Ashe Construction said, “We are working with Innovaré Systems on many Education projects at present and the synergy of the two businesses is going from strength to strength.”
“We are absolutely delighted with progress to date and is fast becoming our weapon of choice to deal with the challenges for rapid, cost effective and energy efficient, new school structures, whether infill or full structure. Egan himself would be proud to see such partnering going on in 2015!”
