19 October 2012
Portakabin Hands Over First Primary School to be Built Using Modular Construction
Portakabin has handed over the first complete primary school in England to be built using modular construction. The scheme for Leeds City Council is also the first project to be constructed using the brand new Portakabin modular building system.
The new primary school forms part of Carr Manor Community School which is now one of only two 'through' schools in Leeds, taking pupils from the age of 4 to 18. It will ultimately accommodate 210 children, helping to address the rapid growth in demand for primary provision in the area.
The £3m purpose-designed building was successfully delivered by Portakabin on time and on budget after only six months on site, in time for the start of the new academic year.
It has a bright and contemporary design which reflects the architectural features of the adjacent secondary school, creating a distinctive campus feel for the site.
Commenting on the scheme, Kevin Jones, Director and General Manager of Portakabin Sales, said, "The success of this project, its aesthetics and the quality of the finished building have taken modular construction to a new level and we believe it will help change perceptions about just what Portakabin building solutions can now achieve. This is an exceptional building, constructed to the highest standards, for an outstanding school and a visionary client."
"The new building system has brought significant advancements in the look, feel, sound and floor quality of the building - and has exceeded Building Regulations for thermal performance."
Harry Rayat, Operations Manager at Carr Manor Community School, said, "The new school is just fantastic. The modular approach allowed us to achieve a tight deadline for the start of the new academic year when we had to provide additional reception places."
He added, "We have been very impressed with the speed and quality of construction. Portakabin clearly understands our sector and was very professional throughout. This was a challenging site but their team worked extremely hard and repeatedly went above and beyond to overcome any unforeseen site issues. This really is a first class building and a credit to the design and delivery teams."
Facilities include seven classrooms each with a sheltered outdoor play space, a sports and dining hall, reception area and foyer, hygiene room with hoist, special educational needs room, catering kitchen, offices, staff room, library, and food and science technology room. Trees have been retained on the site and green areas extended allowing the school to develop outdoor classrooms.
The scale and shape of the building features details such as an inclined roof and a palette of colours for the façades that reflect the design of the secondary school. Large picture windows ensure high levels of natural light and allow views over the adjacent field, and opening roof lights naturally ventilate other areas of the building.
The new Portakabin building system brought a number of innovations to this project, including:
- The use of larger 3.75m wide and 16.5m long modules which reduced the number of units by almost half - resulting in fewer vehicle movements to site, less cranage and reduced work on site
- Fewer internal columns and a flat façade with no visible structural columns
- A new wall construction which has delivered improved thermal performance and exceeded Building Regulations requirements
- A more solid and robust feel for the building
- A greater variety of coloured finishes for the building envelope
- A wider choice of glazing options, including windows with sills and reveals.
The new Portakabin modular building system also now has the benefit of a 30-year structural warranty and five-year product warranty, and the widest range of module lengths, widths and heights to suit almost any site, building footprint or configuration.
For further information about modular buildings for permanent and interim applications, visit www.portanews.co.uk, email information@portakabin.co.uk or call 0845 401 0020.
Editor's Notes
1. Portakabin modular buildings offer a wide range of advantages over site-based construction, including:
- Programme times reduced by up to 50 per cent
- Less work on site to reduce disruption
- Much greater assurance of delivery on time and on budget
- Buildings manufactured to engineering rather than construction tolerances for improved quality
- A wide variety of aesthetic and fitting out options to reduce procurement time.
2. Portakabin is a registered trademark.
