Peterborough School Goes Green
A turf cutting ceremony in April 2008 has marked the start of a new green £10m extension and refurbishment project for St John Fisher Roman Catholic School.
The project has been designed from it's initial concept to minimise the use of fossil fuel based energy and incorporates a number of Low and Zero Carbon initiatives. The Building is being assessed under the BREEAM Scheme and is targeted to achieve "Very Good" status.
The Peterborough office of Rolton Group has incorporated a number of environmentally sustainable features into the design including ground source heat pumps which draw naturally occurring heat from the earth, solar hot water collectors mounted on the south facing roofs and a wind turbine located at the front of the school.
Over the next 12 months the appointed contractor Kier Eastern, will modernise the Peterborough secondary school in the most environmentally-friendly way possible.
When complete it will offer first-class educational facilities to it's 750 pupils and the wider community.
Headteacher Mary Mihovilovic said, "With original buildings dating back to 1959 and growing pupil numbers, the school was in desperate need of updating. This exciting new project gives us the opportunity to do that while minimising its impact on the environment."
The new development will include a library, sports hall and all-weather pitch along with music, drama and ICT rooms. These will be located around a courtyard garden with a chapel in the centre. The development will also include new and refurbished classrooms.
To further enhance its green credentials, a new classroom block will be constructed using laminated timber, sourced from sustainable forests. This will provide a thermally & acoustically efficient building envelope and will be very quick to erect on the site.
Once finished, the buildings will act as an educational resource with students able to monitor the amount of energy being produced using meters located throughout the site.
Ms Mihovilovic added: “This project presents us with a fantastic opportunity. As well as providing first-class facilities, the new buildings will serve to highlight the importance of energy conservation to the students and the wider community, who will also have access to the facilities.”
The project has been primarily funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) with a substantial contribution from Peterborough City Council.
A condition of the DCSF funding was for the new development to achieve a ‘very good’ Building Research Establishment Energy Assessment Model (BREEAM) rating. This aims to help designers deliver best practice and to consider the broad environmental concerns of climate change, resource use and impact on wildlife.
The project main Contractor is Kier Eastern.
M&E Sub-Contractor is Dodd Group
GSHP Supplier is Cool Planet
Project Architect is Northampton-based GSS Architecture.
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