Team collaboration ensures innovative design and effective construction
The new Maths and Science Centre at Monkton Senior School in Bath is now complete, and pupils have just returned from the Easter break to take full advantage of the impressive new facilities.
The project has involved refurbishment of the existing building, a three-storey wing on the eastern edge of the school site. A further extension has improved access to these areas, and added additional space for mathematics classrooms and supporting facilities to the laboratories.
Sustainability has been a major design feature of the project, and the successful collaboration between the project team has ensured the possibility of innovative solutions that optimise the teaching facility. A major part of the brief was to ensure that the enlarged building used less energy than the original, despite an increased volume of 180%; significant insulation has been incorporated into the walls and roof of the old building and fresh air is supplied via passive ventilation stacks.
1500m2 development houses six new labs
The renovation and extension of the 1948 building covers approximately 1500m2, and now houses six laboratories; two for chemistry, two for physics and two for biology, plus three large maths classrooms, each fitted with a wireless IT port. The science departments also have a preparation room, storage space and a resource area. In addition, six smaller classrooms and an IT suite have been created in the existing envelope. The design has incorporated a disabled lift and a mixed use toilet on every floor.
A key objective of the Maths and Science Centre project was for the new facility to become a centre of excellence for the teaching of maths and science at secondary school level. The building is designed to a very high specification and this, in conjunction with a suite of modern scientific equipment, will provide an outstanding environment for teaching, learning and research at all levels, both now and for many years to come.
An outstanding teaching environment aims for excellence
The building programme has been accompanied by the development of new and innovative ways to teach maths and science at Monkton Senior School. The introduction of a mentoring scheme for 6th form students, the appointment of visiting scientists and the establishment of a Council of Reference of distinguished scientists who are committed to supporting the development of these subjects are three exciting initiatives which have been launched during the course of the past year. Not only will they encourage the teaching of maths and science by personal interaction with pupils and staff on a regular basis but they will also provide an important interface between the school, top university departments and the corporate sector.
Monkton’s Director of Development, Dr Alan Kerbey, said: “The educational benefits of this outstanding new facility are substantial. It will provide our pupils with an exciting and stimulating environment in which to study, learn, inquire and discover. It will also enable teaching staff to demonstrate to pupils some of the experimental techniques (previously only taught from text books) that are shaping scientific advancement in the 21st century.”
Tektus Architects: innovation designed in
Local Bath practice, Tektus Architects, was appointed as lead consultant and architects in February 2006. The project evolved from thumbnail sketches to completed construction in the fast timescale of two years.
Tektus led the design concept promoting optimum development of the site, with a contemporary and innovative interpretation in creating new accommodation and interiors, all with sustainable control design features.
The success of the design is defined by the interplay of practicality and aesthetics, where everyday spaces are enhanced through a sensitive dialogue between form, materials, colour, light and views.
New circulation routes have been created with a feature stairway in the south-west corner and ‘street’ accesses to the laboratories/teaching areas giving comfort and light to the gathering and commuting spaces. Reflections of the landscape in the glazing to the staircase create a fascinating tablet to the south elevation and conversely when circulating within the building, the glory of the Monkton Combe valley is revealed in a sequence of vistas from the stairwell, the maths classroom and from the ‘street’, each encapsulating its own unique view.
Importantly, detailed consultation with staff and pupils gave the departments a sense of possession of the design and therefore helped to optimise the spaces created. The ultimate key to the design solution was held by the client whose aspirations enabled the design team to achieve not only the technicalities of the brief, but also to incorporate an essence of delight, all within a rigorously managed budget.
Buro Happold: providing overall project management and sustainable design
International multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy Buro Happold has provided project management, cost management, building services and specialist consulting for the project. Design solutions include the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, which are flush with the roof. They convert the energy contained in rays from the sun into electricity, through the use of a light sensitive (photovoltaic) material. Electricity is transformed through an inverter, into a waveform suitable for feeding directly into the mains supply, where it will be used to operate classroom equipment.
Buro Happold’s sustainability and building services teams also collaborated with the supplier and the school to ensure that 50 per cent of the cost for the PV installation was covered by a renewable energy grant from the government.
Photovoltaic panels will feed into mains
Commenting on the sustainable design solutions, Jim Crouch, Associate Director, said: “The school has always been clear about its sustainability agenda, from both practical and educational standpoints. The opportunity to flush the PV arrays into the roof enabled that solution above others. The school also hopes to add a small scale wind turbine in the future. ”
Crouch also commented on the fantastic collaboration between all members of the project team: “Everyone has had a significant role to play in getting us to this point. Laboratories are complex areas and all the floors have a different layout to suit the education of that subject. Understanding and flexibility have been the cornerstones of the success of this project; different constraints have opened up new opportunities. Even the discovery of a bat roost was treated with a positive approach and did not affect the programme.”
King Shaw Associates: structural solutions created a real design challenge
Multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy King Shaw Associates (KSA) provided structural engineering for the project. Joining the two buildings and providing a combined access route involved removal of the existing central staircase.
KSA Partner Mike Shaw commented: “Ensuring the stability of a 50-year-old building while removing its stabilising cores posed a real design challenge.” However, discussions with a member of the client’s team who had witnessed the construction of the main block in the 1950s, along with studying the detailed records retained by the client, greatly assisted in the understanding of the older structure and informed thinking on how to best connect it with the new build.
Following a review of frame alternatives it was decided that steel would be the most effective structural system for the new building, providing value through construction efficiencies of fast erection and the benefit of offsite prefabrication. The use of a 3-D modelling system ensured that the complex geometry of the new construction would interface seamlessly with the existing and new building envelops.
Shaw continued: “Team collaboration ensured development of a creative and dynamic design, and the result is clear for all to see. The essence of this project was to enhance the spirit of the current and future generation of students, enabling them to realise their potential. This new Maths and Science building provides a state of the art learning environment where students can flourish.”
Dean and Dyball: collaboration crucial to construction
Paul Martin, Contracts Manager at multi-disciplinary contractor Dean & Dyball, said: “We were pleased to be involved in such an interesting and innovative project. The confined nature of the site and the limited access presented one or two challenges to the construction team, particularly during the steel frame erection and re-roofing phase. However, these were overcome by the collaborative approach of the whole team. This was certainly key to the successful outcome of the project”.
The building has undergone a number of extensions and renovations in the school’s history, adapting to the increasing number of pupils and their educational needs.
The original three-storey 1948 building now forms the end elevation of the wing, and consists of a gable end tiled roof. In the mid 1950s the building was extended to the east with a concrete framed structure of the same height. This now houses the science laboratories.
At the far end of the extension from the original building, a two-storey void was formed under the top floor laboratory to provide a ‘fly-shaft’ to the stage below. The Assembly Hall building sits at a lower height, at right angles to the extension, creating an L shaped building.
The Maths and Science Centre will be officially opened in September by Professor Sir John Houghton CBE FRS, formerly Professor of Atmospheric Physics at Oxford University, Director General of the UK Met Office and, more recently, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work on global warming.
Project Team:
Client: Monkton Combe School
Architect: Tektus Architects
Services provided by Buro Happold: Building services, cost management, CoSA, SAT and student consultation
Structural Engineering: King Shaw Associates
Main Contractor: Dean and Dyball
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Images of the maths and science centre are available on request.
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Email hannah.green@burohappold.com
Buro Happold is a multi-disciplinary international practice of consulting engineers established in 1976. We now employ over 1,700 staff in 21 offices worldwide and our aim is to produce high quality engineering design in concept, in detail and in execution, on time, to programme and delivering excellent value for money. Our distinctive culture and ethos is still based on the same principles of care, value and elegance that were established when the practice was founded.
We offer structural, building services, civil, infrastructure and façade engineering, as well as a broad range of specialist consultancy services including cost management, sustainability, ground and environmental engineering, fire and security design, health and safety management, inclusive and urban design, project management, and specialist CAD and computer simulation provision.
Monkton Combe School
Monkton is a co-educational, independent boarding and day school which is situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty just a few miles from the World Heritage City of Bath. Both the Senior and Prep schools were established in the latter half of the 19th century, partly for the education of clergy and missionary children.
Based on a strong Christian foundation and principles, Monkton continues to provide an excellent all-round education for its 700+ pupils aged between 2 and 18 years, an education that encourages a personal faith and sets standards for life, foremost of which are the development of potential, high academic standards and a lifestyle that is based on discipline, respect and service to the modern world.
Monkton Senior School was founded in 1868 by Reverend Francis Pocock, Vicar of Monkton Combe. Today, its 357 pupils come from all parts of the United Kingdom and from abroad. A high proportion of these pupils board; about 35 per cent are day pupils. Although the school has a strong boarding ethos it is organised so that the day pupils are able to participate fully in its life. There is a good mix of boarding and day pupils in each of the seven Houses.
