If you are responsible for planning or designing a Building Schools for the Future project then Interbuild BSF is an unmissable event. Interbuild BSF is a new zone within Interbuild Specifier, dedicated to the world's biggest educational building, refurbishment and regeneration programme. The show takes place from 18-21 October at the NEC in Birmingham.
Supported by Birmingham City Council, Catalyst Education and Bovis Lend Lease, Interbuild BSF is the only event to bring together all key stakeholders in the education and construction sectors to showcase and discuss the building and refurbishment of schools.
DORMA ES200 sliding door operators and complementary fixed glass screenwork have been installed at the main entrance of The Perse School in Cambridge, one of the leading educational establishments in the area.
With approximately 750 pupils, the provision of safe and reliable access and egress at this secondary school was vital. The pedigree of the ES200 made it a natural choice for this type of high-traffic environment, and the accompanying fixed glass screenwork has been designed to provide additional safety. The screens effectively provide a recess for the doors when they are activated to open, ensuring that no one is at risk of a fall by leaning against the encroaching end of the doors.
Kader Primary School is located in a residential suburb of Middlesbrough and has more than 380 pupils.
Although there is a large playing field attached to the school, its use for curriculum activities often has to be restricted, thanks to the British weather. When the school decided to extend their building, a key requirement was to provide an inside/outside teaching and play area that would not be restricted by poor weather. Extensive discussions were held with the architect and much research was undertaken by the school before a decision was made to employ "Inside2Outside" to provide a Pocca canopy as part of the works.
The new Felpham Children and Family Centre on the site of the Bishop Tufnell School in Bognor Regis, West Sussex has been completed on time and on budget using Terrapin's offsite building technology. The ‘C' shaped building by architects Felce & Guy posed no problem for Terrapin's versatile panel-based Unitrex system, which combines design flexibility with the quality, value and speed associated with offsite construction. Purpose-designed Unitrex elements for the 180m2 building were factory fabricated by Terrapin whilst groundworks were being completed and then delivered to site in ‘flat pack' panelised units for rapid erection.
The Tarasafe range comprises of eight products, providing high levels of underfoot slip resistance, hygiene, performance and aesthetics, while its Taradouche shower system is a complete and safe solution for the shower room.
Tarasafe's deep inlay of carborundum particles provides permanent slip resistance, making it HSE compliant and ensuring a group T (K5) wear rating with suitability for heavy traffic commercial use. Sanosol® anti-bacterial and fungicidal treatment is incorporated in all products and some have the added benefit of SparClean® surface treatment for extreme resistance to soiling and staining.
Shaws of Darwen ‘British made' white glazed commercial fireclay laboratory sinks are manufactured specifically for schools, hospitals and commercial laboratory sectors of the market. There are four sizes of sinks which are designed to be fixed under a benchtop. Fireclay is a traditional robust material which is acid and alkali resistant and designed to withstand heavy use.
Shaws manufacture a wide range of other commercial products including eight sizes of Belfast sinks, waste disposal sinks, individual drainers, a combination sink with drainer, two styles of practical floor or wall mounted cleaner's sinks with stainless steel bucket gratings and many other items.
High performance plasterboard from Knauf Drywall lines the interior walls of an innovative factory-built toilet block, newly installed at Brittons School and Technology College in the London Borough of Havering.
Offsite construction specialist Terrapin used 12.5mm Knauf Fire Moistureshield to line the 34m2 building, which was built in two modules to facilitate transport by road from the Milton Keynes factory. Knauf Fire Moistureshield is a specially formulated plasterboard for superior fire protection and moisture resistance.
Schools and nursery schools should ensure children and staff cannot be scalded by hot water by fitting fail-safe thermostatic mixing valves (TMVs) on hot water outlets, says Honeywell, the leading manufacturer of water valves and heating controls.
The valves control the hot and cold water inlets to provide a constant, safe, preset temperature at the point of delivery. They ensure safety by cutting off the hot water inlet automatically if the cold supply fails.
Colourful rainscreen cladding panels from Steni were specified by MeadowcroftGriffin Architects to meet a host of criteria for an extension to a children's centre in north London.
More than 200m2 of "steni colour" fibreglass reinforced polymer composite panels, that feature a smooth surface of electron beam cured acrylic produced without the use of solvents, were specified in four high-gloss colours for New River Green Children's Centre in Islington.
A new school in Plymouth is using "free" renewable energy for all its heating needs, making it one of the greenest schools in the UK. Brook Green Centre for Learning employs ground source heat pumps and solar panels for all space heating and hot water, while an advanced passive ventilation system cools the building in summer and ensures low CO2 levels throughout the year.
Frontrunner XT matting is solving a stony problem of access into Folkestone's University Centre. The problem was how to provide safe access for students and, in particular, for those with disabilities when entering across the old cobbled courtyard in this former Glassworks.
To solve this problem, Frontrunner XT, from Plastic Extruders, has been laid across the courtyard. The 100% vinyl open grid matting has proved to be very effective at providing easy access and safety underfoot because of its extra deep embossed surface which provides increased slip resistance in wet and potentially slippery conditions.
