Lark Hill Primary School Modular Classroom Extension

Lark Hill Primary School Modular classroom extension was a contract awarded to MTX in April 2016. Construction in education is a unique challenge, and the request for further classroom facilities required a module solution.

The brief

The natural ups and downs of school numbers make the allocation of school facilities challenging. School leaders also work with small budgets and difficult health and safety issues. Therefore, when Salford City Council had quite detailed ideas of what they wanted. They needed an educational building for Lark Hill Primary School. The extension needed to be bespoke, fulfilling the requirements of the staff and children. Space was needed for the current capacity of primary students, so there was a degree of urgency to overcome overcrowding.

The requirements laid out were precise. They need eight classrooms, a breakout area, and washrooms. This is a substantial build and to be able to fulfil the requirement MTX designed a two-storey building to deliver this brief.

MTX solution

Space for the educational facilities was provided by Galliford Try for the North West. The 28-bay building was to be constructed on the school's playing fields to the left of the current school site. The building was to extend the current location and was completed within the window. The work began in May 2016 and was delivered to site by July 2016.
When the unit was delivered to site, M & E completed the fit-out in the next nine weeks. The finish of the building, including a cedar cladding and a render finish. The finish was crucial to help the extension blend with the current school and to be one unit.

The speed of the construction and fit-out meant that the school staff and children could extend out by September and the new school year. Likely, a traditional construction model would not have been ready until the following academic year.

The bespoke requirements for the project reflected a desire by the school leaders to provide the best educational experience for the students. They required a stand-alone boiler plant, a BMS control system, controlled roof-lights, CO2 sensors and rain sensors, and mechanical ventilation system.

The controlled roof lights gave the teacher control over the system, as well as the system reacting the smart controls of the sensors for CO2 and rain. Roof lights also provided more natural light, which is so vital for the mental wellbeing of all who use the building. The mechanical ventilation system was installed to fulfil compliance issues relating to the ventilation of classrooms.

MTX further improved the environment for the children by installing fanlights above the classroom doors. This further encourages natural light into the rooms and so spoke to the school's desire for the building to be eco-friendly. There was also an electric blind at each window that could be controlled by the teacher from the controls.

MTX was proud to achieve an air permeability of less than 4.75m3. This again improved the eco-friendly credentials of the build, as the school rooms retained heat and so require less energy to keep the rooms comfortable. When school budgets are tight, this is also a welcome benefit to the building.

The Main Considerations

If you can imagine construction on an existing school site, you can appreciate the significant health and safety considerations. As much of a module building is delivered to the site completed, the only period of construction on-site was to prepare the groundworks. As the budget was constrained and the need for the building intense, the budget and the timeline were tight and needed to be met. Fortunately, the work of modular constructors is perfect for such constraints, and MTX worked efficiently within these considerations.

MTX organised for several residential roads to close so that deliveries for to the site. This helped to keep the project moving and on time. Much of the construction on-site took place during the summer holidays, so the safety of the children could be guaranteed. Children were educated in the new facilities in the new school year, even though the project was only awarded to MTX in April. Within ten weeks of work beginning, the extension was handed over to the client. The strict budget was also honoured, and all Building Bulletin regulations were fulfilled, meaning the extension was fully compliant.