New school for Cornwall to be delivered using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC)
Reds10, the vertically integrated off-site construction specialist, has been given the go-ahead by Cornwall Council for Sky Primary and Eden Project Nursery in West Carclaze, Cornwall. The new school and nursery has been designed to be net-zero in operation and will be delivered using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC).
The 1,750m2 Sky Primary and Eden Project Nursery will accommodate 210 pupils in the school and 26 places in the nursery on the site of the wider residential development at West Carclaze Garden Village. With Reds10 acting as principal contractor and architecture and interior design undertaken by Sense of Space Architects, design proposals have been developed in close association with the Department for Education (DfE) and the Kernow Learning Trust, which provides education, training and support to schools in Cornwall.
Utilising Reds10’s wholly-owned MMC factory facility in East Yorkshire, 87% of the new two-storey school building will be manufactured in Driffield before being transported to West Carclaze to be assembled on site, maximising productivity, quality and control and minimising disruption.
Sustainable features are embedded throughout, with air source heat pumps providing heating to the building and PV panels and windcatchers on the roof, in line with the energy strategy for the school. Sky Primary and Eden Project Nursery is designed to be net-zero in operation and complies to the Department for Education (DfE)’s net-zero in operation guidance, Spec21.
Sense of Space has worked with Reds10 to produce a design which will integrate with the wider West Carclaze Garden Village development using a combination of local and contemporary materials. The new school will be clad in local stone at the lower level with hard-wearing fibre cement panels and metal cladding above, and complimented by soft planting across the site, with areas of short and long grasses, native tree planting and a dedicated habitat area for study.
Informal hard playground space will facilitate the link between the key outdoor play areas and the internal classroom layout. A fenced Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) and grass playing field are enclosed by a soft landscape buffer around the perimeter of the site with tree planting to provide shade, shelter, and interest throughout the year.
The new school will be located at the heart of the Carclaze Garden village centre with direct access from the adjoining neighbourhood facilities, supporting sustainable transport via a network of footpaths and cycleways.
Groundworks for Sky Primary and Eden Project Nursery begin on site in Spring 2024, with first modules arriving on site in Autumn 2024.
Clare Crowle, CEO of Kernow Learning, said “We are incredibly proud of Sky and its first cohorts based at Eden. We are feeling excited at the progress towards finally arriving at our permanent site – building the future for Sky before our very eyes.”
Joe Shepherd, Director & Education Sector Lead for Reds10, said “Delivering sustainable, high-quality and cost-effective new schools is an ongoing challenge for the education sector but the broadly similar requirements of school buildings in the UK make them particularly amenable to the standardisation that MMC delivers. Sky Primary and Eden Project Nursery is a fantastic opportunity to illustrate the benefits of MMC and we are very pleased to get the go-ahead from Cornwall Council and the DfE.”
Richard Addenbrook, Managing Director at Sense of Space, said: “We are looking forward to seeing this highly sustainable project take shape, initially in Reds10’s factory and subsequently on site in this beautiful location.”
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