Preston Manor Lower School in Wembley HA9, designed by HLM for Brent Council, has been shortlisted for three awards – the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Awards for Infrastructure, and Design and Innovation, and the Greenbuild Award 2013 for Education Newbuild.
The council invested £8.5 million in the new lower school, which created 420 new primary places from reception to year six at the all-through foundation school Preston Manor, Carlton Avenue, in order to help meet the urgent demand for school places locally.
The school was built to a high specification, created a legacy for the school, local community and the environment, provided value for money and was also completed quickly.
Preston Manor Lower School was officially opened in June 2012, although pupils were admitted before that. It was built under an innovative, ultra-efficient programme which used modular construction in order to meet the fast-track delivery date.
Preston Manor Lower School achieved a BREEAM rating of Excellent in recognition of the building’s high environmental performance. The design is based around careful positioning on the site to allow the building to maximise passive design ideals, including natural ventilation and daylight. Along with high levels of insulation, the school also has solar panels and an extensive green roof, while modern methods of construction further enhanced the project’s green credentials.
The local community can use features such as the multi-use games area (MUGA), school hall, national level hockey pitch, netball court and football pitches.
Brent Leader, Councillor Muhammed Butt said: “These awards show our renewed commitment to building world-class schools to provide a better future for all Brent children is paying off. Education is the most powerful tool we have to eradicate poverty and inequality, and the best education requires the best schools possible.”
Paul Turpin, HLM’s Programme Architect for the three schools, said: “Preston Manor Primary School demonstrates what can be achieved in a tight timescale and shows that the architecture of the building, as well as the excellent environmental sustainability, need not suffer during a fast-track process.
“Being shortlisted for these three awards is an excellent result for Brent Council and a testament to the commitment and collaborative working of everyone involved.”
The RICS Infrastructure Award recognises outstanding achievement by a project or programme of infrastructure works, including projects that deliver essential facilities, services or organisational structures. The Design and Innovation Award recognises the use of outstanding design and innovation in a successful project. The regional ceremony will take place at the Landmark Hotel, in London on Thursday 2 May 2013.
The Greenbuild Awards recognise excellence in sustainable buildings, with a particular focus on projects that illustrate an understanding of the importance of building performance in use. The ceremony will take place at The Midland Hotel in Central Manchester on Wednesday May 8, 2013.