Offsite construction specialist, The McAvoy Group, has craned the final modules into position at the Concordia Academy in Romford for a new £8.2m building to accommodate 630 primary school children.
The structure for the 2972m2 free school was manufactured offsite by McAvoy, using modular technology to reduce the build programme, minimise disruption and improve quality. The 67 steel-framed building modules were craned into position in just 12 days. A 300-tonne crane was used for the modules, which are up to 16.5m long and weigh up to 17 tonnes.
Funded by the Department for Education via the Education and Skills Funding Agency, and designed by Blue Sky Architects, the new academy will create much needed primary school places. It will be operated by REAch2 Academy Trust.
Antony Baxter, Project Director at the Education and Skills Funding Agency, said: “Delivery and installation of the modular units is a key milestone for the project, which is another step towards meeting the rising demand for school places in Romford for the start of the 2018/19 academic year. The infrastructure works, ground preparation, and specifically the modular units have been well planned and all the modules were installed quickly and efficiently. Offsite construction in this instance is helping to manage a tight programme in a constrained location.”
Raymond Millar, Construction Director at The McAvoy Group, added: “The use of offsite construction has created a watertight building envelope at a much earlier stage in the building project. This approach is safer and cleaner for the other trades working on the site and is not dependent on the weather — an important benefit during the winter months.”
The school is due to open in September 2018, and facilities will include: 14 classrooms, a music and drama studio, a main hall with an adjacent smaller hall, a full catering kitchen, an activity room, small group learning rooms, a staff room and administration offices.
Externally, there will be a hard-surfaced games area for high-energy play, an informal outdoor learning area with a tensile fabric canopy to provide a shaded space, a garden with raised planting beds, a secure reception play area along the southern elevation, and a natural habitat ecology zone.
