Innovaré begins work on Langton Green Primary School Expansion

Langton Green is located within the western boundary of Kent and although it is five kilometres to the west of Royal Tunbridge Wells, is regarded as a satellite of the spa town.

With families moving into the area and the birth rate continuing to rise, Kent County Council is expanding Langton Green Primary School to supply the need for primary school places in the area.

Innovaré, in partnership with main contractor S.T. Abbott, OSG Architecture Ltd and Kent County Council, is providing the design, engineering, manufacture and installation of the complete structure using our i- SIP Structural Insulated Panel system, increasing the school’s current capacity from 210 places to 420 places.

Whilst this will help the school lower the energy costs of the expansion by making the new buildings highly energy efficient, it will also address the various traffic, safety, noise and dust concerns of local residents by using an innovative method where much of the construction takes place in safe factory controlled conditions.

This minimises waste produced and reduces the amount of onsite labour, materials and deliveries required to build. The structure is estimated to take just over 2 weeks to complete.

With Education experience that covers pupils of all age ranges, both Innovaré and S T Abbott appreciate the need for close communication with head teachers, their staff, parents and pupils in a changing school environment. This approach aims to minimise disruption to the day to day running of the school and ensure the maximum level of safety for all involved or associated with the construction works.

Working alongside Innovaré and S.T. Abbott is OSG Architecture Ltd, a Kent based practice with vast experience in the educational sector. As a firm that has embraced the offsite method, they have developed a design that all parties wish to duplicate as a clever response to the need for schools within tight EFA budgets and the rapid build required.

With careful specification and detailing the new classroom block will provide a fast, cost effective and sustainable development to fulfil both the client and end users’ needs, driven by OSG’s unique understanding of Offsite process and working in partnership with Innovaré.

The school benefits from an established rural setting and therefore the new buildings have been designed to have sympathy with their natural surroundings. The expansion will enable the school to extend its ‘notional catchment area’ further to accommodate the children of Langton, as well as children from the western periphery of Tunbridge Wells.

Innovaré currently has more than 45 Education projects in Design and Manufacture, with partnerships with forward thinking businesses like OSG and S.T. Abbott critical to delivering new school buildings with the holistic design principles which will delight those who use them daily, whilst meeting the challenges of programmes that need to be fast and on a budget.