After what has been one of our busiest years on and off-site we are pleased to confirm that we will be working alongside Baxall Construction on the latest Kent County Council Project Langley Park Primary School in Maidstone. We are already progressing the structural design and will be on-site in early 2018. The works are for the construction of a new extension to the existing building to maximise it’s capacity to create a 2FE school.

Here at Streif our main goal is to provide quality buildings quickly through clever design ensuring as much of our work is completed off site in our factory. However there are times when even our talented engineers can’t avoid the need to construct certain elements on site.

This was the case with the vaulted ceiling to the living room of our latest project – Skyfall. The roof design is a vaulted hipped roof with a lantern sitting at the top of the hip. Having run through the design with our engineers in the factory a clever solution was thought up which involved constructing the roof at ground level on site with all elements of the roof being precision engineered in the factory ready for piecing together once on site.

Works started with the setting out of the walls on which the roof structure would sit this enabled the glulam ring beam to be positioned accurately before being fixed together at each corner using metal flitch plates. The crown at the top of the hip which supports the lantern was then propped up at the correct level in the centre of the glulam ring beam to achieve the desired pitch of the rafters and hip beams. The hip beams were then lifted into position and fixed to the plates at each end with a number of bolts, all holes in the timber and metal were pre drilled in the factory showing the level of accuracy we are able to achieve. All infill rafters were then positioned and fixed and the ply boarding was screwed to the top creating an extremely rigid and robust structure. The roof was then covered in tyvek and fly battens to weatherproof the roof. At this point the roof structure was then craned to another location on the site and the living room walls were erected. Once the walls were installed the roof structure was lifted into its final resting place upon the walls with everything fitting to the millimetre.

As you can see from the photo collage below it was a very pleasing solution to the design and construction of a complex structure. Even if we may say so ourselves!

Streif UK has been following this progression towards a single BIM model for all disciplines closely as many of the clients who utilise our closed panel timber frame system for their buildings have been using BIM for some time due to client requirements.

Streif UK has BIM capabilities across all of our operations in the UK & Germany, utilising a number of different software platforms depending on the process at hand. All the software we use is compatible and it is easy to integrate the Building Model across the different platforms using the IFC  open file format.

BIM has been the catalyst for rapid change in the construction industry which is increasing the demand for efficiency and shorter delivery times. Process integration and improved communications throughout the project life cycle are proving to be an essential part of this change. As a result, BIM is becoming the new standard for the construction industry.

Baxall Construction’s Hankham Primary School Extension Project for East Sussex County Council is an exemplar of BIM in action. The project demonstrates the efficiencies of modern methods of construction in combination with collaborative working between the client and its stakeholders, the design team and the supply chain.

The D&B project involved a new £1m extension, one of four school extensions carried out by Baxall Construction in partnership with off site construction specialists, STREIF, under the Sussex Cluster Framework Agreement.

The large extension, which included new classrooms and a hall, needed to be constructed quickly in order to minimise disruption during term time. As the Streif closed panel timber frame system is ideal for building quality quickly it was a perfect solution for this project.

From a proposed 42 week programme using traditional construction methods, the project was delivered six weeks ahead of the original schedule with client savings in excess of £0.25 million (18.6% of the original budget) – a sustainable BIM solution that generated whole life cost savings and more energy efficient school facilities.

So rest assured that Streif has full BIM capabilities across all of our operations in the UK & Germany and we can work with you to build your new project in time and on budget.

Architecturally the two buildings are very different even though they are both single storey structures. Robsack has a high mono pitch roof with exposed glulam beams supporting the roof cassettes which ensures the classrooms achieve good daylighting levels through tall windows fitted in the timber wall panels to the front elevation. Externally the closed panel timber frame building is clad in Siberian Larch which looks stunning along the long elevations of the timber wall panels. This cladding to the timber wall panels will weather down nicely forming a silver patina with time. The composite timber aluminium windows and doors were supplied by Rationel finished in a Silver Grey RAL colour which compliments the cladding nicely and will even more so as the building weathers. When we visited, the nursery had opened it’s doors for business to the first class of children and it was good to see the space fit for purpose and being used by lots of happy children.

West Rise by contrast has a more traditional flat roof with standard floor to ceiling heights but nothing was traditional about the external finishes to the timber frame building which was clad with multi coloured Trespa panels interspersed with Sweet Chestnut timber cladding. Each separate extension was finished off with colourful canopies which provide shelter whilst the pupils are partaking in outdoor activities. The canopies were dotted with coloured domed roof lights to provide extra light to those playing below, a really nice touch by the architects.

So with both sites now fully landscaped and ready for action plus the sun shining it was a perfect day for a little photo shoot.

Robsack Wood Primary Academy

West Rise Junior & Infant School

First up this year we are working with architects RB Studio to provide the closed panel timber frame structure for a high end residential unit in Fishbourne. This will be project number four with RB Studio Architects using our off site construction system, which will lead to a seamless initial design phase due to the architects understanding of our product.

Mill Pond Cottage, Fishbourne is of contemporary design with the form reflecting the basic layout of the existing dwelling on the site with the selection of external cladding and other external materials being drawn from those used for the existing dwelling, namely brick and timber cladding, which are the main materials used to clad the timber wall panels of the north and south sections of the proposed eco building.

Although not designed to passiv haus standards, an energy efficient design will be achieved as the closed panel timber frame will be based on one of our higher specification timber wall panels, creating a low energy and sustainable building in the place of the existing dwelling. The layout of the proposed closed panel timber frame building is well thought out with the footprint being split into zones with the South wing being designed as a warmer zone incorporating the living rooms which will benefit most from solar gain through the large glazed openings formed in the timber wall panels which are also there to soak up the fantastic views out over Chichester Harbour. There is then a central circulation zone with double height voids at each end leading to the North wing which houses the utility areas and bedrooms.

The proposed glazing at Mill Pond Cottage is to be provided by Velfac, the Velfac 200 windows will sit well with the modern design of the prefabricated house. Here at Streif UK we are not bound to supply our high quality German windows with our closed panel timber frame buildings, we are just as happy to use UK suppliers if the client prefers the aesthetics of windows provided by a different manufacturer. You will still get all the benefits of factory fitting (such as improved air tightness), as we will ship the windows to our factory in Germany where they will be installed into the timber wall panels as normal.

Mill Pond Cottage will be built using off site manufacturing to produce the closed panel timber frame building at our factory in Germany with Streif UK working alongside the UK architect and the Streif GmbH design and production teams ensuring that the design process leads seamlessly through to production of the precision engineered German timber frame house which will then be delivered to site and erected by our site teams to provide a weather tight structure in under a week.

So if you have a bespoke residential project which you need to construct quickly and effectively, our closed panel timber frame system will fit the bill, so please call our offices to discuss how we can help progress your design to create a sustainable building for you.

Here at Streif we have had a busy year with the construction of two schools in the South East and a high end residential unit in Dorset, all produced using the off site manufacturing process at our factory in Germany to ensure a precision engineered closed panel timber frame building for our client.

As we look toward 2016, we are hoping to be kicking off projects with existing clients and some new ones too. Whether you are looking to use our system to create your dream self build timber frame to live out the good life or wish to utilise the off site construction process to facilitate the rapid construction of a new school or other type of timber frame building, we look forward to hearing from you.

From all at STREIF we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The off site manufacturing process provides a number of benefits over more traditional methods of construction, many of which ensure a holistic approach to sustainability for your building. Minimal waste is created during the off site construction of the timber frame panels and cassettes due to precision engineering by highly skilled operatives in factory conditions. What waste is created is reused or recycled generally within the factory environment without having to be transferred to external waste/recycling facilities. So this combined with our specification of sustainable materials which are used to fabricate the timber wall panelling and cassettes it is easy to create an eco building using the Streif German timber frame building system.

With the bulk of the production of the timber frame building completed, work on site kicked off in mid November with a view to completing the two storey 1500m²+ School by the Christmas break. However the great British weather has had other ideas.

Normally by this time of year the days are short, the weather is fairly settled and the temperature has dropped but we seem to be having a typical British autumn in December. The last few weeks has seen gale force winds most days interspersed with spells of heavy rain.

Due to the nature of off site manufacturing this bad weather has caused a few problems on site as we have been unable to lift the timber wall panels and cassettes into place due to the high winds and our lorries have also been delayed in crossing the channel due to stormy seas and disrupted ferries therefore impacting the erection programme for Knights Park School.

To manage the build project efficiently the weather and wind speed are analysed daily by our site teams and the crane has a wind anemometer on its lifting arm. The maximum wind speed in which our site lifting operations can take place is 9.8 metres per second (approx. 22mph). This is actually quite a high wind especially for the South of England and it is certainly unusual to have consistent high winds like this on and off for a month.

However our site teams have persevered under pretty tough conditions and the closed panel timber frame building is, (as you can see from the photos below) progressing well. As we speak the timber wall panels for the first floor are being lifted into position and we are hoping for a good run up to the Christmas Break to get the programme back on track.

Once again the fabric of the building will be based around the tried and tested wall option of 60mm external insulation combined with a 160mm thick German timber frame fully filled with mineral wool insulation to hit a U-value of approx. 0.17W/m2K, giving the perfect balance of cost and efficiency. As Knights Park is a two storey school building this throws up other issues relating to fireproofing of the walls and so the external timber wall panels and all structural internal walls to the ground floor will be double boarded in Gypsum Rigidur H fibreboard to ensure a full 1 hr protection is provided.

Knights Park School has been designed by the architect with three different external finishes, cavity brickwork and two types of fibre cement tiles (cladding). This highlights the flexibility of the Streif timber frame panelling system to accept almost any external finish.

A number of external finishes such as timber cladding can be factory fixed to the closed panel timber frame system which means less waste, precision finish and improved efficiency of operatives all due to the factory conditions which is another key benefit of the off site manufacturing process and ensures that where buildings are being assessed under BREEAM sustainability additional credits can be achieved under the appropriate sections helping your building to achieve the more onerous targets of today’s regulations and planning requirements.

Knights Park has a large double height hall with raised roofing section over to support a large photovoltaic array, this is all to be supported by a number of glulam beams to ensure the structural integrity of the building. So with renewable energy being incorporated into the design alongside the low energy and sustainable closed panel timber frame building system provided by Streif, Knights Park has the potential to be a real eco building.

We are all eager to see this project through to the end as we feel it will be a real stand out building once completed with our usual sharp finish and attention to detail which comes as standard with all Streif builds ensuring this is the case.