GRAVESEND GRAMMAR SCHOOL
GRAVESENED GRAMMAR SCHOOL

EDUCATION

GRAVESEND GRAMMAR SCHOOL

The project includes the construction of a new two-storey sixth form block, canteen, and new car park, along with the creation of much needed additional hard and soft informal social spaces following the demolition of the existing canteen and ancillary storage buildings

Having completed the Sports Centre at Gravesend Grammar School in 2007, it was great to be appointed by Baxall Construction Ltd to deliver the Kent County Council funded project to expand the school, providing first class teaching accommodation to replace a dilapidated two-storey temporary classroom block.

The sixth form block provides six general classrooms, ten seminar rooms, two large study areas, two group rooms along with associated staff and administration spaces with a floor area of 1,739sqm.   The sixth form centre forms a focal point at the new entrance into the school.

The canteen replaces a dilapidated 1950’s canteen building with a state of the art dining hall and commercial kitchen with associated storage and office spaces.   The canteen has a floor area of 512 sqm. The canteen has been located adjacent to the playing fields with an external canopy so that it can be used as a sports pavilion during the sports fixtures that are an important part of school life.

As with all school expansion projects, the phasing needed to be carefully considered to ensure that the new accommodation was constructed to facilitate the demolition and construction of the new facilities within a live school environment

The project was developed in collaboration with Baxall Construction and the appointed design team within a 3D environment using a BIM workflow to virtually construct the buildings, eliminating clashes, providing high quality construction information to reduce waste and time delays during the construction phase.   

This was particularly important because the 6th form centre adopted an MMC construction methodology utilising hybrid Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPS) with pre-cast concrete plank floors.   The use of SIPS panels has created a highly performing external building fabric with high levels of insulation and air tightness, whilst reducing waste.

The canteen building was constructed using a more conventional steel primary structural frame with Steel Frame System (SFS) infill.   The steel frame required careful coordination with the mechanical and electrical installations, not least due to the exposed services and industrial aesthetic within the dining hall, which was adopted in response to the tight budget for this element of the project.

The 6th form centre and canteen adopt a natural ventilation strategy using hybrid ventilation units with heat recovery.   The 6th form centre achieved a B rated Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

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