Morgan Sindall Construction has secured two contracts worth £13.5m to deliver two new school projects using offsite construction
The redevelopment of Queensmead School in the north London borough of Hillingdon and Haileybury Turnford School in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, are the latest in six schemes awarded to the Northern Home Counties business by the Department for Education, under the Priority Schools Building Project.
Works at Queensmead School include the construction of a brand new two-storey technology block and plant room, adding 18 classrooms and associated facilities, and the demolition of the current locally listed technology building which has reached a state of disrepair.
The team adopted a Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) approach to delivering the plant room (which sits separately to the new school building), and was prefabricated by Morgan Sindall Construction offsite and then fitted within two days on-site.
In Cheshunt, the Haileybury Turnford School project will see the construction of a new large school building, housing 12 classrooms, three state-of-the-art science laboratories, a science prep room, and sixth form seminar room. The energy-efficient building will also allow for office space for the staff, as well as a large library accessible to all school users.
Morgan Sindall Construction adopted an offsite approach and used structural insulated panels (SIPs), a high-performance building system made up of insulated panels that can be fabricated offsite for efficiency and improved quality, to reduce overall construction time by seven weeks compared to traditional methods.
The use of SIPs also saw a 15% reduction in waste and required fewer operatives on site.
Innovating to drive cost and time efficiencies
David Rowsell, area director for Morgan Sindall Construction, said: “We are delighted to be given these two key projects for the Department for Education’s Priority Schools Building Project, supporting the next generation by delivering inspiring teaching spaces for school users across the region.
“We have again shown our commitment to innovating and adopting modern methods of construction to deliver high-quality projects while driving cost and time efficiencies and enhancing sustainability performance across developments.
“We continue to look at alternative construction methods and we’re delighted to be harnessing this approach to deliver the best possible solutions for our clients and communities.
“We are looking forward to further developing our close working relationship with the Department for Education as the schemes progress, whilst continuing to enrich the communities that sit at the heart of where we work.”
Both teams at Queensmead School and Haileybury Turnford School have started on site, with the projects set for completion in the latter quarter of 2021.
