Site Diary

4ARC528

Tidemill Primary School Technical Site Diary

Russell Perrett

Elle Phan

BA Honours Architecture


University of Westminster


Why did you choose the site ?

Why did you choose this site?

As a local I think the Tidemill school would be a unique way to analyse my community and built environment. I regularly walk around the area and have noticed a high level of redevelop redevelopment ment . It will be interesting to see how the school reflects upon its existing context

From experience as a part-time teaching assistant I became fascinated fascinated with the relationship between design and education. I have worked as a part-time teaching assistant at Westminster academy last year (designed by AHMM) and am currently at Loxford school (designed by Aedas).

What do you hope to learn?


From this project I hope to learn context specific technical techn ical informatio information n about education educational al require require ments. I would also be interested to know what the clients brief was to help analyse the architects response

From this project I hope to discover insight to the way Archite Architectura cturall solutions solutions can can a ect educatio education n by using a technical framework

Russell Perrett

Elle Phan





Why did you choose the site ?

Why did you choose this site?

As a local I think the Tidemill school would be a unique way to analyse my community and built environment. I regularly walk around the area and have noticed a high level of redevelop redevelopment ment . It will be interesting to see how the school reflects upon its existing context

From experience as a part-time teaching assistant I became fascinated fascinated with the relationship between design and education. I have worked as a part-time teaching assistant at Westminster academy last year (designed by AHMM) and am currently at Loxford school (designed by Aedas).



From this project I hope to learn context specific technical techn ical informatio information n about education educational al require require ments. I would also be interested to know what the clients brief was to help analyse the architects response

From this project I hope to discover insight to the way Archite Architectura cturall solutions solutions can can a ect educatio education n by using a technical framework

THE BRIEF

As part of our Architectural education we have been asked to complete a site diary for our second year Technical Technical Studies module. The purpose of this module is to observe and analyse an Architectural design from its conception through to completion on site.

The site we chose was the Tidemill School in the heart of Deptford, South East London. The project, funded by Lewisham Council includes the replacement of the existing primary school and the construction of a Learning centre and library. There will also be a block of artists studio flats with an exhibition space bellow. The Architects chosen for this project were PTEa (Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects). The concept of this project is to create a set of public amenities and thus create a “physically and socially integrated environment”. (PTEa web site) The building process started on 12th October 09 and is due to end now on the 18th July 2011. During this period we completed four site visits, a site meeting and a Practice visit to the Architects. In this time we decided to focus mainly on the Tidemill School and Lounge building to cope with the time scale of the project.

PTEa

Pollard Thomas Edwards architects diespeker wharf, 38 graham st, London ASSOCIATES Bronwen Thomas David Graham PROJECT ARCHITECT Mike O’Rouke Nick MacArthur Robin Saha-Choudhury Sarrah El Bushra

PTE architects were awarded the Tidemill school through an unconventional route because they do not specialise in education. Starting in 2005 when ptea completed St Jude & St Paul’s ce primary school in Islington to comply with the mandatory need to provide at least 30% housing they chose to include a floor of flats above the school. This enabled the school upon the completion of the flats to sell them and recoup the cost of the schools construction. PTEa then went on to repeat this method on other schools such as St Thomas’ ce primary school, Kensington.

“Pollard Thomas Edwards architects (Ptea) is a practice committed to making our towns and cities better places to live in. Ptea combines high quality design with explicit social purpose,

On their last project, Rushey primary school for Lewisham Council they were able to construct and sell 24 apartments to pay for the school. This gave them the relationship with Lewisham Council which ensured they received the Tidemill School project

Contract Administrator The firm Press and Starkey were awarded with the job of Contract Administrator. The role of this job is to work on behalf of the client as a consultant that checks on the Contractors. This helps to ensure that the Contractors are being accurate and precise, protecting the interests and assets of the client.

LEWISHAM COUNCIL 1 CATFORD ROAD, LEWISHAM, LONDON

Previous funded projects Stephen Lawrence centre, 2008 - adjaye associates - £10m Kaleidoscope, 2006 - van heyningen & haward £13.3m Present education facilities in the area laban centre, 2002 - Herzog & de Meuron £14m Goldsmiths, 2005 - Alsop architects - £6.4m Funding and Costs The client for this project is Lewisham Council as Tidemill Primary is a public school. The total cost of this project will be £20.1M. To accumulate this funding the council secured both DFE (Department for Education) and LA funding.

PTEa

PLANNING APPLICATION

NOVEMBER 2006 - MARCH 2007 PTEa submits a feasibility study for a new Tidemill School as contracted by Lewisham Council AUGUST 2008 Lewisham Council appoints PTEa to produce a feasibility study for a replacement Tidemill School including a public learning centre, library and housing complex. Demolition Planning is also sent. PRE-TENDER PTEa design team led by Project Architect, David Graham is assembled OCTOBER 2009

FIRST STAGE TENDER Completed 22nd August 2009 SECOND STAGE TENDER Galliford Try appointed Main Contractors 2009 CONSTRUCTION COMMENCEMENT 9.00am 12th October 2009 CONSTRUCTION COMPLETION 18th July 2011

PTEa

THE CONTRACT

Jct Design And Build 2005

The Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects and Galliford Try have a bespoke agreement between the client called the ‘JCT 2005 Standard Forms of Construction Contract’ which states all the contractor’s design responsibilities, third party rights and dispute resolutions.

Design Changes PTEa charge additionally for changes the client wishes to make. To save on this cost the client is choosing to use Galliford Try for the changes they want thus saving costs. To do this Galliford Try has contracted in additional designers and engineers to accommodate the fitting of these new changes.

COLLATERAL WARRANTIES

A Collateral Warranty on the contract is an agreement between the client, the end user, the architect and contractor involved in the design and construction of a primary school development. The purpose of a Collateral Warranty agreement is to create a contractual link between the beneficiary and the architect and contractor. If the end-user of property who suffers economic loss, then Lewisham Council can sue the designer or builder under the collateral agreement on the grounds that there’s been a breach of contract. Due to defects of the building that are due to negligence, the architect or the contractor, the Any parties who have an interest in the building cannot sue the architect, or the contractor for defects in the building due to their negligence

Reflection I noticed that PTEa have an interesting policy of placing in their contracts a clause which means they can charge for unnecessary changes. This means that as the Client wants to make changes the fluctuation in cost will not reflect badly on the Contractor not the Architect. Therefore to save money, Galliford Try have contracted in engineers to design their alterations. This has left the Main Contractors rather unhappy and you can see where this has caused communication problems between the original tender set and the alterations.

LADs are drawn into the contract between the client and the main contractor to protect both parties against breaches in the contract with compensation taking into account time frames, lost revenue and collateral costs.

Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects do not have any LADs as the contract has been signed over to Galliford Try on the Design and Build, this means the legal and monetary risk is with the contractor and not with the architect. Liquidated and Ascertained Damages are stated in the building contract and are set as an amount per week. The current LAD’s are set at £15,000 per week which the contractor must pay if they fail to complete their obligations. If completion is overdue beyond the contractual completion date, contractor must pay the client Lewisham Council. However LAD’s claims can be invalid if they are not the legitimate pre-estimate of the employer’s potential loss, so the employer can usually recover the unliquidated damages for the violation of the

LADs (Liquids and Ascertained Damages)

The contractor signed agreement with the client for a fixed construction fee of £20.1M. Since the fee is fixed, there are no advantages for the contractor to delay the project. Contractual obligations tend to be the driving force to complete the project on time. So far for the Tidemill Project there has been £15, 000 damages. These damages have been due to adverse weather conditions in January 2011. The original contract was 90 weeks, but due to the weather in January there is now a revised contract of 92 weeks. To be able to apply for these changes due to weather there has to be one or two factors: -The temperature is constantly below zero - there is over 50mm of rainfall in one day This information was given to the client by Galliford

SITE DEVELOPMENT

The development is situated in the heart of Deptford. It shows the area in relation to Deptford Rail station, where the station is 160meters north west from the site. The Primary School development on the Giffin Street and is bounded by on the western edge of Deptford High Street. The 1.17 hectare site is bounded on the north by the main line rail link to London Bridge ( see map above left). This is an over ground railway brick viaduct, equivalent to approximately two storeys in height. The west boundary is formed by Deptford High Street and Giffin Square, the southern boundary by Giffin Street and the existing six storey 1960’s residential blocks, and the east boundary by Wavelengths Pool.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT Deptford sits within the London Borough of Lewisham in southeast London. In the past, shipping and shipbuilding has played a part in Deptford’s history, making it a prosperous place in the 1800’s. In 1836 the first railway, from London to Greenwich, was built through Deptford. Since the 20th century Deptford has suffered from economic decline, suffering through the 1930’s depression and the bombings of the Second World War. This led to major redevelopment in the 1950’s and 1960’s with public housing.

PLANNING APPLICATION

Lewisham Council and Peter Thomas Edwards Architects submitted a planning application of the design proposal for Tidemill Primary School in June 2007 Lewisham Borough planning office then granted conditional permission for the proposed development in 1st September 2008 Demolition commenced on 2 July 2007 for the Women and Children’s Centre, council access point and public WC’s on the site to make way for the new proposal. The Women and Children’s Centre was then relocated within Deptford and the council access point and public WC’s are now incorporated into the new Deptford lounge building on the ground floor next to the Primary School.

CONSERVATION DEVELOPMENT AREA

On the conservation map, the new development is wedged between two conservation areas. The St Pauls conservation area, designated in 1975, adjoins Deptford High Street and is distinguished by the classical grade 1 listed St Pauls church dated 1714 by Thomas Archer. It is surrounded by a leafy green churchyard. The area is also characterised by some 18th century terraced houses, particularly on Albury Street. On the building heights on this project has been restricted to correspond with the height of the buildings on Deptford High Street and the social housing on Griffin Street. Albury Street and St Pauls Church

TIDEMILL PRIMARY SCHOOL

NEW SITE

EXISTING

The current Tidemill School is located just to the south of the site for the new school. The primary school is very popular priding itself on its multicultural pupils with 30 spoken languages. With the success of the school it has now become unable to cope with the intake of students. This is why the council has brought in PTEa to come up with a new school on a larger site across the road. The advantage of this situation is that the school will not be without any facilities while the new school is being constructed. Also the close proximity of the new site means there will not need to be any alterations to the catchment area for pupils.

1. Identify the Site 2. Concept Plan & section 3. 3-D Massing 4. Alterations inclusion of green roof and atrium

THE CONCEPT The design of this project was founded upon the findings of the feasibility report PTEa compiled before they received the contract. The concept then went through several stages of design.

THE PROPOSAL

The new Tidemill School is part of a visionary concept to combine a replacement primary school with a state-of-the-art learning centre and library the Deptford Lounge. Through sharing facilities with the wider community, Tidemill School will benefit from increased space and facilities, in a physically and socially integrated environment. The school will form an L-shape around an open courtyard, with the Deptford Lounge forming the third side. The Lounge building will contain facilities shared with the school, with separate access points from within the school, and from the public realm. On the far side of the courtyard, Resolution Studios housing artist’s studios and exhibition space with flats above shields the school from the road and railway line beyond. Here PTEa has drawn upon its previous experience of combining school and residential uses.

THE PROPOSAL

MAIN CONTRACTORS GALLIFORD TRY

Galliford Try were able to get this contract from Lewisham Council due to budget driven reasons. This is because the project started in the midst of the recession in 2008. Galliford Try offered the lowest quotation and were then awarded the project. David White refers to himself as the ‘lynch pin’. He is the one connected between the Architect and the Client and manages the project. Barry Kelly is the Site Manager and is therefore in charge of the running of the site. This means he has to organise and know when new materials and machinery is needed and arriving to ensure a JIT ( Just in Time) style of construction. Reflection: From the impression I get it appears as if Galliford Try will be making next to nothing on this project. However they are advertising themselves very well to future clients. For example the Site Manager walks through the entire site every morning checking every stage on construction is where it

A model was produced which showed all the proposals in context this allowed the community to understand the proposal. All visitors were encouraged to give their views on the proposals.

PARTY WALL ISSUES No party wall issues have been made on this project since the client is the Lewisham council, who run the borough where the development is being built. Prior agreements with the local residents, businesses and neighbours were secured between the two parties, so the contractor and the architect did not need to intervene with this.

Various people living in the council would want to work with the council for various reasons. If the client was not the council, the project would have joint owner issues with everyone on the high street and on the surrounding streets which would cost a lot of money and time. The council has involved the local community during public consultation. In January 2008, the Deptford town Centre hosted a two day public consultation, giving local l ocal residents, traders and stakeholders the opportunity to view an exhibition of the improvements proposed proposed for Deptford. A model was produced which showed all the proposals in context this allowed the community to understand the proposal. All visitors were encouraged to give their views on the proposals.

CONSIDERATE CONSTRUCTION SCHEME The Considerate Constructors Scheme was set up in 1997 by the UK construction industry to improve its image. Since 1997 the Scheme has been registered and monitored over 40,000 sites over the country. The Tidemill Primary project is listed as part on the ‘Considerate ‘Considerate Construction Scheme’. A CCS poster is clearly noted on the site entrance which displays the site of practice and contact details.

The Construction Considerate Scheme involves: - Proactively informing those affected by the work in advance of activity on site - Documenting and monitoring environmental standards and targets - Making sure the perimeter of the site is a positive advert for the industry with cleanliness - The site should act as a positive advert for the industry by the use of clear signage, excellent ramped paving throughout the compound, an attractive fence and colourful plant tubs. - Respect for People Initiative The site should not endanger those they affect by being a good neighbor - The Site Manager should positively influence those they employ.

On this project the contractor and architect have done the following to comply with the scheme: - Reuse two existing old trees from the site and incorporated them in the new landscape plan - The use of recyclable copper cladding - Recycled 8,000 cubic metres of crushed concrete from the demolition on-site ahead of construction. - recycled plaster and wood off-site to recycling plant instead of going to landfill - Major building components were assessed for environmental impact with the school predicted to achieve a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) rating of “Very Good” once completed. - The installation of a biomass boiler within Tidemill Primary School will fulfil the school’s heating and hot water requirements. Burning biomass will release the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide that the biomass has consumed within its life or would release on decomposition; it is therefore regarded as carbon neutral. Wood pellets for the boiler will be sourced from within a 25 mile radius of the school, further supporting the green credentials. Ceramic filters on the boiler will create a further 20 per cent saving on the carbon dioxide output.

BRE BRE (Building Research Establishment) are a former Government owned (1997) consultancy and research company. The purpose of BRE is to t o help create better, safer and more sustainable buildings, communities and businesses.

BRE have created an environmental rating scheme containing more than 1500 specifications used in various types of building. BREEAM is effective because it is an easy to use database relying on certified figures falling under the Life-cycle Assessment (LCA) giving ratings from A+ to E.

Materials and component Elements:

Overall environmental impacts:

- External walls - Internal walls and partitions - Roofs - Ground floors - Upper floors - Windows - Insulation - Landscaping - Floor finishes

- Climate change - Water extraction - Mineral resource extraction - Stratospheric ozone depletion - Human toxicity - Ecotoxicity to Freshwater - Nuclear waste (higher level) - Ecotoxicity to land - Waste disposal - Fossil fuel depletion - Eutrophication - Photochemical ozone creation - Acidification

BRE services include: Consultancy - to create safe and healthy, high quality, cost effective buildings, communities and businesses, while meeting legislative, client, social and environmental requirements requiremen ts at every stage of the project. Research - to generate new knowledge means that we can tackle today’s challenges head on. We provide the information needed to underpin national building regulations, and to help you develop and use new and improved processes and products. Testing - a range r ange of cutting-edge facilities, we can test the performance of everything from individual products to whole buildings. Innovation - specialist knowledge of the built environment, combined with our research and development capabilities, can help you bring your new ideas to life. Sustainability - reduce environmental impacts of buildings, communities and businesses at all stages, from planning and design, through use and refurbishment, to end of life disposal. Training and events - a wide range of training courses,

BIODIVERSITY The Tidemill School have worked with different groups to ensure the complex is sustainable and promotes the ecology and biodiversity of Deptford.

The single storey northern classroom wing is covered with a green roof. The low nutrient growing substrate will be composed of crushed bricks (recycled from on site demolition) mixed with organic matter. The roof will be planted with a combination of Sedum species and wildflower seed mix. The seed mix will consist of a mixture of annual species (to provide interest for the first years of establishment) and perennial plants adapted to such growing conditions. The green roof will act as a visual amenity and will only be accessed for maintenance. Also green roofs promote rain water recycling, especially in large hard surface areas such as Deptford. Two brown roofs are located on the roof of Deptford Lounge. These will be covered with a low nutrient layer of crushed bricks (recycled from on site demolition) and sown with an annual wildflower seed mix to provide interest in the first years of establishment. The brown roof will however not be planted with other perennial plant species. These will naturally establish over the years from air born seeds or from seeds carried by birds Nature garden will be planted with trees and plants, whilst the school pond will become a habitat for wildlife for teaching purposes and

SCHOOL REGULATIONS CDM (CONSTRUCTION DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT)

The SEN and Disability Act 2001 & Disability Discrimination Act 2005 parts 3 and 4 There a several guidelines of legislation that ensure Disability equality in Schools: - CDM (construction Design and Management) 6 April 2007 - DES (Disability Equality Scheme) for each school has to be formulated - LEA accessibility and access plan needs to be available for the public Disability School Requirements: Circulation Allow ‘way finding’ via clear signage, good lighting to ease corridor congestion and lifts, ramps etc. Fire Safety Consider fire fighting dead end distances and opening 2nd floor windows reachable by ladder. Magnetic door catches linked to fire detection systems Reception Area desk must have a lower section and knee recess for wheelchair users and acoustics, down lighting avoided as it makes lip reading difficult Support Spaces and Therapy Rooms and specialist W.C’s

Public Schools in the Uk are all about providing equal opportunities in life for everyone. To help achieve this the Government produces a regularly updated Design guide for schools which Local Authorities and Architects have to rigidly adhere to.

DcSF Schools for the Future Legislation: - increased number of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) spaces - Large spaces such as halls accommodating 8090 people - Resource Spaces - A central library with ICT study areas - Group Spaces for primary classes (30 pupils) and secondary spaces for (10-15 pupils) - Practical spaces e.g. science, art, design - Quiet spaces for 1-1 tuition and retreat - Learning support spaces - Sufficient Storage - A central Staff room with preparation spaces - Service spaces, kitchen, maintenance - Quality pupil spaces, toilets, storage - Appropriate sized furniture - Good heating, light and ventilation, and sound insulation, and acoustics for intelligible speech - allow for 30-40 years change in technology and requirements

ORGANISING SITE VISITS To organise the site visits first we mailed PTEa for permission who then put us in contact with Galliford Try. After this we arranged four dates to finish the site every two weeks.

CABE EDUCATION CABE is the government’s advisor on architecture and the built environment. The CABE objective is to help and empower clients to achieve the best buildings and public spaces. CABE has published a 135 page publication entitled ‘Creating excellent primary schools’ which lists the guidelines for education building design.

CABE, in association with the Construction Industry Council (CIC), has developed a methodology for evaluating the design of buildings, known as design quality indicators (DQIs).DQIs evaluate three main components: build quality, functionality and impact. build quality access, space, uses functionality performance, engineering, services, construction impact the school in its community, within the school, form and materials, character and innovation. The publication also lists various examples of existing Primary Schools in the country. The architect and the client can look up on for reference and inspire the design process. The guidelines from CABE have helped PTEa build a portfolio of Primary School projects and experience over the last several years. They include: St Thomas’ CE Primary School Rushey Green School St Jude & St Paul’s CE Primary School Junior Open House

PRELIMINARY WORKS

Preliminary Programme of Works This is a gant chart showing the timeline of the different construction process that must be undertaken in order to complete the site build. The preliminary programme of works is created in order to manage the timing and processes from start to finish. Here is a photograph of the preliminary programme of works at David Wright’s office . This build is expected to take just over a year and a half to complete. Start date: October 2009 Practical completion May 2011 The chart shows contingencies with timings since a particular task could take longer, or shorter than necessary.

WASTE ON SITE

Today a big emphasis is being put on the use of sustainable buildings. However it has also become paramount to control the distribution of waste on site and lessen the carbon footprint of construction under the considerate constructors scheme. To help with this Galliford Try are using the company Waste aware Construction. WAC tries break down wasteage into manageable categories. This is regulated on the Tidemill site by using methods such as separate Rubbish Skips to sort out recyclable materials.

SAFETY ON SITE SIGNAGE AND SECURITY

Signage Employees and visitors will notice health and safety posters all over the site’s various locations because of the thousands of potential hazards. Security The Site also needs to be protected against theft as many expensive materials, tools and machinery are left overnight. To solve this problem Galliford Try are using a Construction Site security company who have multiple CCTV cameras watching the site.

SAFETY ON SITE

PPE (PROTECTIVE PERSONAL EQUIPMENT)

Reflection PPE (Protective Personal Equipment) It is a safety procedure to wear health and safety clothing when entering onto the site. Here is a photograph of rusty wearing Protective Personal Equipment (PPE) Wearing PPE would protect him from minor accidents such as chemicals and light equipment falling on him. However it does not protect him from the obvious major potential risks e.g. heavy machinery, or excavation cave ins, or falls, so workers must abide by strict safety procedures when working. e.phan

SAFETY ON SITE

SITE INJURY AND FIRST AID

5 people died on a construction site last year. It is the most dangerous industry to work in behind fishing

On site we noticed there were lots of everyday accidents like cutting fingers. When an accident occurs, generally the details are logged in an Accident log book for future reference for insurance purposes and in case there are court proceedings. This is also an effective way of managing who is where on the site. This management is vital because with this project starting on a rushed production schedule for the completion date in May, the injury rate of workers on site could potentially increase. Site manager and First Aider Barry Kelly told us so far there has only been 1 major accident when a worker had his hand caught on a girder and slit his palms. As a result the worker ended up in hospital with broken hands and had to have an operation but fortunately recovery.

Reflection The first thing that I noticed when entering the site is the turnstile entrance to the construction area. You can not go any further thank this point without wearing full PPE. On the site you can notice workers at different levels; high up on cranes, scaffolding, and using machinery on the ground. There is a high scale of productivity that comes with this site movement so you can see why the construction company stresses safety. From the site Visit I have discovered that accidents on a Site are inevitable and small accidents actually pose more of a threat to the rate of construction. r.perrett

SAFETY ON SITE FIRE SAFETY AND EMERGENCY EXITS

Re-Barring is the process of bending extruded pylons or covering the ends with plastic mushroom caps to reduce the risk of injury and impaling

Walking around the Lounge Building on the Stair wells I noticed several clearly visible methods of exiting the building and plans of where the nearest exit is.

Reflection

Here is a plan of the Fire escape Routes and some temporary signage I noticed on the Stair Wells

All of the Fire exits are marked near to the stair wells. I think this makes sense because during construction the ways of circulating in and out of the building are often different to a completed project. Between the different Site visits I noticed that each time I went to Visit the same section of the building we often had to take different routes to get there. r.perrett

DEMOLITION Cost of demolition-£204, 000

Existing The site was previously used as a shoppers’ car park. The previous buildings on the site were the Business Centre, public toilet facilities, council access point and Women and Children’s Centre.

PLANNING

A demolition planning application was sent august 2008 and permission was granted in October 2009 after Galliford Try sent a second letter to confirm the application with the council. The site also contained a number of poor quality trees which were removed. The two large trees in Giffin Square are to be incorporated within the design and are to be retained.

CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS PRIOR TO SITE VISIT Coincidentally, prior to this Site Diary, Russell visited the site between January and March 2010. We have been able to combine these pictures with Galliford Try’s progress reports.

12th October 2009 - To begin with the land is excavated to make room for the building project and for the machinery to come on the site. Then to start off the installation of the foundations for the school building. Piling machines were used to put piles into the ground before the building can be built on top. The reason for this is to strengthen the ground works so the school can be built on top. Piles are effectively underground columns which are used to support buildings, bridges and other civil engineering structures. They stop the building from sinking into the soil, which would otherwise compact with construction of something heavy on top of it. The piles usually extend quite a long way into the ground, right down as far as the bedrock, so that they will bear the weight of the building. The machine used to install these piles are called a ‘continuous flight augur’ piles. It’s the quietest and most vibration-free method of installing piles, which is why it is usually used in urban areas. With local tenants living across the road to the site. – Reduction of noise levels – less complaints. The big ‘corkscrew’ or augur is driven into the ground to the required depth, and the soil comes up to the surface by the action of the screw. As the augur is removed, concrete is pumped into the bottom of the hole through a void in the shaft of the augur to fill the hole. If you tried to take the augur out before putting the concrete in, the hole would simply collapse because of the ground pressure around it.

CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS PRIOR TO SITE VISIT

Sprinklers Sprinkler tanks installed for the installation of the building. Fire sprinklers are widely recognized as the single most effective method for fighting the spread of fires in their early stages - before they can cause severe injury to people and damage to property. When one fire sprinkler head goes off to fight a fire the entire sprinkler system does not activate. Sprinklers react to temperatures in individual rooms.

Above: digging and installation of sprinkler tank


Basement works After this basement works were carried out retaining wall works along resolution way and are currently progressing with the ground floor slab. Over the next 4 – 6 weeks we will be constructing the concrete frame.

Above: Digging of the basement works and installation of the ground floor slab


Ground floor slab Sub structure drainage Upper floor installation Brick construction expect for the stair cases which were made from concrete and steel rebar. The contractor is not sure why the architect has decided this considering brick construction takes longer then doing prefabricated walls, ceilings and floors. Considering this project is about doing a project as quick as possible and on time. Doing concrete construction would have shorten the length of build on this project.

MATERIALS, MACHINERY AND ACCESS Access On site there is one main entrance through Frankham Street. From here materials and machinery can be delivered into the centre of the site where they are stored. Machinery Machinery is a fundamental part of most builds. On this site there were a multiple number of large machinery.

Reflection

Scaffolding A key part of any design, Galliford Try has contract leased £300, 000 worth of scaffolding for this project. The scaffolding

I asked David White why there was a need for so much scaffolding. He said the reason for this was there are always unexpected things that need scaffolding. I think he was right here as I saw evidence in the atrium where additional scaffold

FACADE CLADDING The Material Tidemill School new facade is made from TECU copper cladding. Copper is extremely important as a material, not only in ecological terms, but also in economic terms. Electrolytic refining has now makes it possible to remove all impurities, thus removing any differences in quality between newly produced copper and copper derived from scrap metal. Thus, not only are resources conserved, but there is also a saving of energy for ore mining, processing and transport to processing plants. TECU cladding surfaces are made by punching the copper and copper alloy strips after production. The punched parts are fed immediately to the recycling process where they are further processed. Punching processes have no effect on the positive properties of the cladding material and various patterns can be punched through the alloy strips to produce a variety of cladding designs, to meet architects and designers for new visions in surface design and innovative applications.

FACADE CLADDING Architect’s Intention - The cladding acts as a light filter and rain panel - In the future if the School decides to change the cladding the copper panels can easily be melted down and remounted!

The Architect for this project, David Graham, explained to us why he had chosen this material for the facade of the school. What interested him was the use of the panels as sun screens and light filters. The hole sizes go up and down in percentages. The greatest is 50% opaque on the panels over the second floor Football pitch. David Graham said the reason for this was to create the impression you can look from the playground and see the sky through the building. The other percentages are 32% and 15% which have much more material. The purpose of these panels is to act as light filters for the class rooms and sustain a high quality of natural light without the need for additional shading. Reflection When I asked David Graham why he had chosen the gold paneling he replied that Lewisham Council wants to show it is putting money into the area and the cladding represents that. When referring to the building he coined the phrase ‘Golden Nugget’. However when we were outside a local said to use it was a waste of money and a prison to keep kids in. I agree with David Graham. The cladding does look excessive at the moment but in a deprived area like Deptford the Gold finish will represent something of worth to the community. r.perrett

FACADE CLADDING The Fitting Below : corner fitting Bottom right: suspension cable stay detail Top right: facade fitting

The facade for this building was originally intended to be hung from suspension cables. However due to later structural issues the cladding now has to be fitted onto a steel frame that wraps around the outside of the building

The Cladding clips on the suspension tie cables as illustrated bellow. The rigidity was supposed to come from the fitting of the panels compressing against each other while the cables pull the cladding in tension.

e.phan

FACADE CLADDING The Fitting bellow: Locking the horizontal bracing in tension creates a downward compression

Another Structural alteration is the need for a steel frame on the roof football pitch. This interrupts the Architect’s idea of seeing the sky through the copper cladding

tension

Reflection The structural supports on the roof are a clear obstruction of the view and I feel the cross-bracing when combined with the steel mesh will really undermine the Architectural qualities of the roof space and close it off to the sky. This is a lack of communication between the Engineer and the Architect

FACADE CLADDING Physical Detail Here we have included a physical example of one of the details so you can explore how the cladding fits

Under the Building Bulletin 100 - Design for Fire safety in Schools 2007 - BS 5839 Fire detection and alarm systems for buildings - BS 5306 Fire extinguishing installation and equipment on premises - BRE 187 External fire spread: building separation and boundary distances

FIRE SAFETY Material, Method and Finish Fire Safety in Schools is very important. This is especially prevalent when there is gas, bunsen burners and chemicals in Science Classes. On one of the site visits we were able to see the materials and methods used to help

Fire Retardant Spray This is sprayed into the corner of every class room. The purpose of this is that in the case of a fire it draws the flame into the corner and takes longer to burn through. Fire Proof Paint The Jotun paint being used on this build is also has more fire resistant properties. Like the spray the paint will partially aid containing the fire due to its endothermic qualities. Flame-Proof Ceiling panels To aid the above two processes an extra 150mm thick ceiling is used to slow down the fire and contain it.

FIRE SAFETY SPRINKLERS After the sprinkle tank was installed in first, a water distribution piping system was installed to the ceiling during the construction of the building. See the water pipping system in red colour. in the installation photography below. When a fire is actived, adequate pressure is then applied to make the water flow out of the sprinkler heads.

Automatic sprinkler head. Sketch showing how water is used in a sprinkler head when it senses fire.

BIOMASS BOILER The Tidemill School site as a means to lower its carbon emission is e employing a Biomass Boiler. The advantages of this are that the cost of energy can be cut by up to 50% and the cost of materials to burn can be 40% less.

Exit emissions

auger

Feed

Process Biomass Boiler works by burning low-grade biological products such as wood pellets that arrive through a delivery feeder shoot. Here these pellets arrive through an automated cell wheel separating the storage room and the boiler controlling the flow of pellets. These products are then enter a combustion chamber to release the energy they have stored during photosynthesis. The energy is green however because even though CO2 is produced by the product burning, the organic biomass captures the escaping emissions. After this the ash automatically is removed to a 50L container

Waste

Firing

Reflection: I would usually question the of the use of Biomass boilers with the use of fuel delivering and discarding the pellets. However on this project there is a large storage room which

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL DUCT WORK The ventilation in the dinning hall and kitchen is a horizontal duct work system. The sheet metal duct work is supported up by hangers on the ceiling. The duct work is spaced between the hangers at a particular length to avoid deflection, stress and buckling. Above: A sketch showing the duct work is supported hangers.

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL VENTILATION Ventilating is the process of replacing air in a space to control temperature and other things like moisture, odors, smoke, heat and to replenish oxygen in the school building. the school uses a ‘mechanical’ ventilation system. Ventilation system includes both the exchange of air to the outside as well as circulation of air within the building. Below shows the diagrams of this system. The kitchen has a extraction ventilation system fitted with extractor fan.

Top Left: Sketch diagram of the horizontal air duct system in the school dinning hall and kitchen, showing the air duct connections.

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL VENTILATION Air ducts and duct wrap The circular air ducts are warped with rock-wool insulation, known as duct wrap. Rock-wool is a material which has been specially engineered to provide cellulosic fire protection and acoustic insulation to circular section structural steel. The Rock-wool isolates noise and heat while the inner dark lining prevents light from bouncing inside the duct.

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL VENTILATION Natural ventilation is the ventilation of a building with outside air without the use of a fan or other mechanical system. The staff building is a converted old factory warehouse. Additional roof lights have been added to the building and existing windows have been kept, although there are no north facing windows. Ventilation can be achieved with open able windows to vent air inside the spaces. Below I have drawn a sketch diagram of this ventilation and the warm and cool air that circulates through the building and its rooms.

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL VENTILATION This is an example of the roof light detail used by PTEa. The light serves as natural ventilation for the building. The light is recessed into the wooden cladding which means it does not obstruct the pupils eye line.

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL VENTILATION

balustrade

Here are the alterations made to the roof light. A balustrade is added to the external cladding to prevent pupils climbing into the lights. A metal mesh is covered over the roof light to prevent pupils from falling in.

mesh

WINDOWS VELFAC Detail For the School Architect David Graham has specified the use of Velfac Windows. Velfac, hailing from Holland are an Architectural glass and window specialist who use slim aluminium frames to let more light in.

As oppose to regular windows that have a 108mm frame, Velfac windows use a 54mm frame. To do this the spacer is sunk into the structure. This creates a shadow and reduces the visual impact of the sash, making the aluminium frame appear slimmer. Now the sash can only be seen when the window is opened. This means there is less wood and aluminium used. Glazing Velfac windows use soft low-e double glazed units as standard with argon filled cavities. A Thermal break or Aluminium Energy Glazing bars are inserted into the 116mm glazing break to prevent the flow of heat.

WINDOWS VELFAC ARCHITECTS INTENTION

The Architect chose these windows as he explained he had used them on previous Primary schools for PTEa. The reason for this is aesthetic and practical. For aesthetic appeal the quality of light let through and the frame makes the windows appear cleaner and plush to the building. Practically these windows let in 15% more light and in School Regulations there has to be a high quality of light. Reflection: I really like the Velfac glazed windows product range. They have supplied all the windows for the entire building project, including the glazed doors! Velfac manufacture standardised options for all glass, fixtures and fittings to a variety of structures, interfaces and facades. The overall finish of the product is very slim-lined and minimalist. I can see why this standardisation of a high quality finish is popular with David Graham.

WINDOWS VELFAC Child Regulation Velfac window systems include a number of safety features designed with children in mind. One of these is safety locks that can be fitted either before or after installation. The locks work by using a push-button system limiting the opening of the window. This leads on to another safety feature which enables the windows to be locked in place when opened for ventilation. The lock however ensures that the open window can be held ajar at a distance that a child will not be able to fit through, complying with School Regulations.

DOORS VELFAC Detail The doors to the staff room building, main entrance and the class rooms facing the playground are also made by Velfac. These Double Leaf glazed doors are part of the Velfac 600 range. The doors are suitable because the glazing bars on each door can be divided in multiple ways to create the impression of various types of door.

Staff Room Doors These doors are made using 3 pieces of glass panel and 36mm bars for each door. This is different to other doors in the build where although the same range of door is used less Thermal breaks are used. The Class Rooms underneath Resolution Studios for example will use less breaks as they are South facing and need to release heat, not trap it. 300mm Stainless Steel Lever Handle Aluminium Barrel hinge This slimline hinge forms one of a three part knuckle hinge, sitting unobtrusively in the vertical line of the door.

TIMBER CLADDING FITTING The timber Cladding is being used on the north building’s exterior covering the ground floor class rooms. David Graham mentioned that to stop insects building nests in between the gaps in the timber a net is placed behind the slats.

Here is a detail of how the window and the cladding work together. I have inserted a red line showing where the net will be inserted between the weatherboarding and the timber. If the net was not there then insects could get in through the horizontal gaps as well as the join between the window frame and the timber.

ATRIUM Water Damage The Atrium in the Lounge building is a key Architectural feature of the school and a significant part of construction. Sitting above the dining hall, the double height space acts as a central space and houses a green roof above it.

However problems have been encountered with the atrium. Over the Christmas period the atrium suffered water damage due to a construction error. This could be because the constructors are not familiar with the construction of green roofs. This problem has greatly slowed down construction on the atrium and will have cost a lot of money to repair. To solve this problem Galliford Try had to do an additional sub-contract with Hauration, a surface drainage company. Reflection We saw the Hauration Lorry arrive on our last site visit in April 2011 this shows just how costly a construction mistake this has been for Galliford Try. They will also have to wait for the water damage to dry. I find this all a bit unnecessary though as when David Graham mentioned the purpose of the cladding to be opaque against the sky I do not understand why the Atrium is a roofed space.

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ELECTRICS There are strict Safety regulations for electricity sockets in schools. Electrical wiring in installed through steel pipes through the walls and floors of the building. The increasing use of electronic and electrical equipment in schools has mades it necessary for electricity supplies to be made readily to pupils and staff in schools. The architect has chosen to use a trunking system for the distribution of power and data cables because it allows many sockets to be available. The trunking system can go all the way around the room, avoiding the potentially dangers of serious injuries caused by electricity e.g. accidents caused by people tripping over extension leads.

1. Library

2. Conduit

3. Cable Tray

4. Fitting

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ELECTRICS Here is a plan diagram showing the different types of electrics we encountered on site

5

6

7

4

1 3 2 8

FRAMEWORKS This is a key part of the buildings structural integrity. On this build several alterations had to be made such as the cross bracing beams on the football pitch roof.

RENDERING - On the exterior a 6mm render is plastered to the building, sealed with a waterproof paint and then hidden by the external cladding

On such a large scale project and in a school it has been decided to go for very simplistic finishes. A plain white render has been chosen because it is clean and not distracting which is important in a learning environment.

- In the Lounge Building Library brick walls have been placed for aesthetic purposes

Block Wall to Tile

Block Wall and Plaster Board to render

In the Bathrooms, Tiles are being used to finish instead of a painted render.

To cover the breeze block walls, a standard lime plaster of 2mm thickness is applied and left to set. On top of this the paint is sprayed onto the plaster to give the desired colour.

Onto the breeze block a 6mm sand plaster is used as a flat surface to mount the tiles. Unlike lime Plaster this has a much coarser texture as it will be covered and not seen. The wall is then primed with a tile adhesive and the tiles are worked out from the corner using plastic spacers to ensure an even gap between the tiles. For the edges special corner tiles are used. At the wall edges and in the spacer gaps grouting is used to seal the wall and make it water tight. This is the most effective way to water seal a W.C.

It is noticeable that the render only extends up to where the sub-ceiling will be. After this as common practice the sub-ceiling will be installed. The purpose of this is to hide any of the M&E and sprinklers, which aesthetically wont look appealing in this type of building. For this build Armstrong TLX systems are being used as they are quick and easy to construct

UNDERFLOOR HEATING The school has a complete underfloor heating system. The advantage of Underfloor heating is that because heat rises when it comes from the insulated floor it requires less energy to heat a room.

Process The rigid Insulation is laid down onto the base block, protecting the tubes against the possibility of condensation inside the piping causing damage which would involve the piping being dug up to rectify Then the polyethylene heating and cooling tubes are fixed down on top of this A screed layer of concrete is then poured over the pipes, protecting them from damage and creating a flat surface on top of this the Flooring finish is placed Polyethylene pipes are laid down onto a layer of insulation in a counter flow. Then the concrete layer covers and protects the piping. Reflection Underfloor Heating makes sense for this school not only due the lower running cost but also there will be more class room space. I remember in School there were old

SUB-CEILING Armstrong TLX For this project David Graham chose Armstrong Ceilings TLX range to help create better sound quality in the class rooms and provide a quicker construction rate.

The Sub-Ceiling for this project have mainly not been installed yet. Ins some Class rooms you can see the installation. Sub-ceilings are now common architectural practice in modern builds. Rooms are often subdivided and a ceiling tray is inserted up around 500mm from the floor above onto a shelf. This construction has become popular because it is an effective way to mask the M&E without the Architect having to construct a structured ceiling and planning how everything will fit into the ceiling. Armstrong’s TLX ceiling is being used because it has an easy fit system that allows for quick construction due to its hook clipping structure. Also the panels they provide are useful for class rooms as they are efficient at reverberating sound and acoustics which is required for the class room environment.

CLASSROOMS Soundproofing In the Lounge Building Soundproofing has been used on several of t he class rooms as well as the Armstrong reverberating ceiling panels. On the music room in particular box to box construction has been used. This includes two layers of plasterboard and a 50mm perforated wall panel.

Music Room wall detail

CLASSROOMS Sizes As a means for flexible Learning the Tidemill School will have large class rooms that can be subdivided using partitions for multiple classes. This will allow for multiple class sizes and interaction between classes.

class room split

Reflection I think this is an idealised idea. I understand why this is appealing and on paper it seems like an effective way to aid new methods of alternative learning. However in the CDM (Construction Design and Management) 2007 it states that partition class rooms should be avoided due to sound proofing issues. I agree with the CDM legislation because external noises can be very distracting for pupils and mixing two class room atmospheres in one space separated only by a temporary partition will undermine the feeling of more manageable class sizes because the noise will still be there. r.perrett

LANDSCAPE PLAYGROUND

The Landscape Architects Schoneaid have designed the school playground as well as the bellow aspects: - Nature garden with an extensive pond - Green roofs - the roofs of the school building will be planted with sedum and wild flowers - Brown roof – the roof of the lounge building will be planted with vegetation to encourage and sustain local birds and insects - Bird Boxes will also be installed on the site to encourage birds onto the roofs - Indigenous trees and plants in woodlands Reflection: The original Playground was described as ‘too harsh’. I like the way the levels are split creating a more dynamic feeling as well as giving teachers better student observation.

LANDSCAPE PLAYGROUND

POP - UP SITE MODEL Here is a pop-up model you can use to understand the areas of the site referenced to in the diary. This will hopefully help the layout of the site be understood.

CONCLUSION

REFLECTION

We visited Tidemill Primary school site 6 times and Pollard Thomas Edward Architects practice in the last 3 months to produce this site diary.

From our site visits, I realised that no matter how much planning and costing is done ahead of the build, the design of the building can always change in; design, cost and unexpected delays.

The time spent on the Tidemill Primary school project with the contractor Galliford Try has been a rewarding and informative experience. From doing the site diary project we have developed a greater understanding of the role of the project architect and the contractor, and the relationship between the two. We realised the architect is the middle communicator between the contractor who builds and the client (the Lewisham council). The contractor on the other hands is the middle communicator for the sub contractors and the architect. His task is to purely focus on the ‘cost and build’ of the project.

I remember sitting in the David Wright’s office and he was showing us a new landscape plan of the new children’s playground because the primary school and the council said the original design was unsuitable. This meant the playground had to be costed by the contractor again and there is no guarantee that the new design will be accepted if the costs are too great.

In our site diary we decided to document and analyse the details, technical methods and problems that we encounter during the construction of the primary school.

The particular aspect that interested me about this project was the building typography. The concept of a primary school combined with public amenities in one building means it is a great asset to the wider community of Deptford and not just to the educational system.

Site Diary

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