Yorkon Completes New Highly Sustainable Building for York's Newest Secondary School
Award-winning off-site construction specialist and Portakabin subsidiary, Yorkon, has completed a purpose-designed and highly sustainable education building for York High School - York's newest secondary school.
The £2m project was part of a £10m contract awarded to Clugston Construction to refurbish and extend the site of the former Oaklands School, and create a new, larger campus for York High School following the merger of Oaklands and Lowfield Schools.
The modular building, which comprises 52 steel-framed units in three different sizes, was manufactured by Yorkon and craned into position in just six days, reducing disruption and time on site by around 50 per cent.
Completed in only six months, the new two-storey 1,900sqm scheme has replaced a number of sub-standard teaching buildings with state-of-the-art education facilities, and accommodates the Communications Faculty for English and Modern Languages, and the Inclusion Faculty. It comprises seven general classrooms and four language laboratories, a new science laboratory, dining and social facilities, offices, behaviour management rooms, a hygiene suite and toilets for staff and pupils.
David Ellis, Head Teacher at York High School, said, "Teaching staff and pupils genuinely love this building. It is spacious and light, with wide corridors for ease of circulation. The external appearance is excellent. It makes a positive statement for the school and sits well with the existing adjacent sports centre - and the canopy brings both buildings together. We are also pleased with the inclusion facility. You would never know this is a modular building!"
"Alan Thomas, Architect, City of York Council, said, "This is the first time we have used off-site construction for a new school building, and we are very impressed. The construction process, management of the site, and the liaison with the main contractor, all worked very well, and Yorkon's design resources were beneficial to the Council's own architectural team."
"The use of off-site construction gave us certainty of completion on time despite the challenging programme for the whole campus, and it allowed us to take this building off the critical path. Yorkon reduced time on site and disruption, allowing the adjacent sports centre to remain fully operational throughout the construction programme and ensuring the safety of the general public. We would have no hesitation in recommending the approach, and Yorkon, to other local authorities and schools."
Architectural features of the new building include a barrel-vaulted roof with central light wells, an impressive overhanging roof which forms an entrance canopy, and a range of external claddings to create a statement building - cedar and terracotta, with metal panels to the upper floor on each elevation. There are also a number of sustainable elements to reduce energy consumption, carbon emissions and running costs:
-
Biomass heating
- Passive ventilation
- The use of light wells and a high level of glazing to maximise natural light and reduce the reliance on artificial lighting
- Rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing
- Timber cladding from sustainable sources.
The building was designed to be flexible and adaptable to change. The internal walls are non load-bearing and there are clear internal spans of up to 12m, so the teaching spaces can easily be reconfigured to meet the school's changing requirements over time.
