British
engineering expertise is helping a new school deliver community
benefits beyond the norm.
Wynne
Construction has been commissioned by Gwynedd Council to construct
the new £13million Ysgol Hafod Lon Newydd, in Penrhyndeudraeth, for
100 pupils with special educational needs from the Meirionydd and
Dwyfor areas of the county.
Under
the contract, Wynne Construction aimed to deliver optimum community
benefits, including giving practical work experience for college
students, employing apprentices, and helping provide training
opportunities through the local supply chain. Curriculum engagement
activities have included site visits by the college students and
teaching the children from the existing Hafod Lon school about health
& safety. The community benefits further extended to the building
design, with sustainable strategies employed throughout, including
bespoke-engineered louvres screening plant on the roof to reduce the
visual impact on the surrounding area.
Air
movement specialist Gilberts (Blackpool) Ltd was specified to design
and engineer the louvres and support steelwork. Employing its
in-house technical expertise, Gilberts used British-sourced aluminium
and steel to create the screen, which extends to 28m long, and is
over 2m high. The completed structure hides the air handling units
and mechanical plant from view, and reduces exposure to and impact of
the local weather, whilst allowing good airflow around the plant to
optimise efficient operation.
“The
whole school has been designed to minimise its environmental impact,
with a BREEAM target of excellent, a ‘fabric first’ approach to
the build, biomass heating, and a sedum roof, among other elements,”
explained Gilberts’ Sales Director Ian Rogers. “As the experts in
air movement, and a local supplier, we were chosen to devise a
solution that would continue that low environmental impact approach.
We used aluminium processed in the UK, and steel from Wales. Every
component we supplied we designed and manufactured ourselves, in our
factory just up the coast from the school.”
All
Gilberts’ systems are engineered to order. Founded over 55 years
ago, privately owned Gilberts is unique in having its own, on-site
(85,000ft2)
manufacturing facility, producing, in-house, engineered solutions,
with an in-house test centre. These have combined to establish the
company as Britain’s leading independent air movement specialist,
supplying grilles, louvres and diffusers for mechanical and natural
ventilation.The company prides itself on its ability to execute,
in-house, every element of a product, from design through tooling to
manufacture.
