Educational building client
Platt Church of England Primary School was another Streif UK sustainable education construction project. The design and build took place in 2021 for Kent County Council through the Department for Education (DfE) framework. We worked in partnership with Baxall Construction Limited (main contractor) and Miller Bourne LLP (architects) to create an inspiring space the school describes as “glorious”.
Educational building brief
Founded in 1846, Platt Church of England Primary School has taught generations of Kent children. With an increase in pupils every year, the school had outgrown the old building on the original site. A sustainable new build on a larger site one mile down the road was the perfect solution. And after 30 years’ planning by the local authorities, we were delighted to help deliver this project.
This new build for a one-form entry school in St Mary’s Platt, Sevenoaks, had a few defining requirements. The main requirement was the use of an offsite manufacturer, which we fulfilled.
The design of the building was a unique single-storey design using a solid timber framework with a monopitch roof. Another feature was a large hall with exposed beams where the school’s 160 pupils could gather. The external finish combined brickwork and timber panel cladding for a smart, contemporary look.
Educational building solution and process
Baxall Construction used the Streif advanced closed panel timber building system for this project. This sustainable construction system featured factory fitted Rationel AURAPLUS windows and doors for better quality and a speedier build onsite.
The main contractor started on site in October 2020 and the Streif team started setting out five months later. It took us just eight weeks to lift and install our offsite manufactured solutions.
With the construction project phased to allow early handover of some building sections so the main contractor could start the fit-out, we completed on 24 May 2021. Read more about Streif UK’s involvement in this sustainable education construction project.
Educational building key challenges
Bad weather at the start of the project during the COVID-19 pandemic brought extra challenges. But the very nature of our offsite solutions kept safety a priority while delays to the construction process were minimal.
Site constraints allowed space for only one working platform where a crane could operate. As the working platform was positioned at one end of the long narrow site, use of a large mobile crane (160 tonnes) was the only option to lift our wall panels and floor cassettes into place. Again, this was something that Streif UK and the wider team handled well.
Educational building results
Professional photographer Scott Wishart documented the onsite construction with amazing drone shots of our site crews and installation process.
The project was well received by Baxall Construction, Kent County Council and Platt Church of England Primary School. One school representative commented on their blog that documented the building project:
“Today I visited the inside of the site for the first time since the roof has been installed. The space is glorious!!!”
On 23 September, a grand opening by the school’s head boy and girl was attended by Bishop of Tonbridge Rt Revd Simon Burton-Jones and local MP Tom Tugendhat. It was even featured on Meridian News where the Rt Revd said:
“Children have suffered with their mental health in recent times. So, to actually get a building like this which is as big and airy and spacious as it is, and with teaching staff that are thoroughly committed, watching out for those children who have those needs will be really important, and I’m sure the staff will do that”.
We are proud to have helped create this natural looking, well-lit building to improve the students’ learning environment. Read more about our sustainable buildings for the education sector.
Contact us to discuss your own sustainable new build.
