sector
Education
location
Grays, Essex
Tree Tops Free School the first in government carbon pathfinder’s with hybrid panel solution
Based in Grays, Essex, the establishment was the first new school in the government’s carbon pathfinder scheme to be completed following its commission by the Department for Education (DfE) in 2022.
Net Zero Panels (NZP) delivered the 3,293m2 facility using panels manufactured in their Cambridge base factory. This flexible method of working ensured the building was completed to the highest safety standards and with minimal disruption to the school – i.e. during the holidays.
:
01
Combustibility
This scheme required specific attention to internal wall build-ups, and the specific testing has become a keystone in the NZP offer for robust compliance.
02
Thermal Performance
NZP designed the thermal performance of all elements within their package, including finishing elements installed by other trades, to ensure all wall and roof elements meet the design specifications.
03
Acoustic Performance
NZP outlined the wall and roof element design for acoustic performance, ensuring these solutions aligned with other compliance drivers such as fire and carbon.
04
Fire-Rated Partition Solutions
NZP created a solution to overcome pattressing as it created issues with the partition fire ratings, increasing the flexibility of fixing into the wall boards used in their approach, which has far greater strength.
05
Robustness Duty Rating
NZP needed to increase the robustness duty rating for circulation areas, achieving ‘severe duty’ as defined by BS 5234-2 without affecting fire performance.
06
Air Permeability and Thermal Bridging
The structure delivered by NZP had an air permeability or leakage rate below 2 /m3 / hm2 (@ 50 Pa), and their thermal bridging calculation contributed to an excellent fabric, driving down operational energy costs.
About the project
Agile solutions, delivered sustainably.
Tasked with using modern building methods to create new structures, a solutions-driven approach, which prioritised time and energy-efficiency, was employed to deliver the project.
Utilising the organisation’s specialist experience of supplying sustainable solutions for education sector clients, NZP’s kit-of-parts system ensured the construction would be agile, whilst maximising the potential for the school to be green and support a positive change within the local community.
With the main focus to reduce operational carbon the system dramatically reduces the embodied carbon for the life of the building, NZP provided a hybrid, structural panelised system, the design and use of which addressed the performance challenges associated with modern school construction, such as airtightness, thermal, combustibility, and acoustics.
The system’s internal and external walls employed a high-quality alternative to plasterboard, and NZP’s unique building board combined superior fire and water resistance, acoustic performance and impact strength to reduce waste on site and manual handling whilst utilising factory-closed, panel technology.
According to the EPD (Environmental Product Declarations), NZP’s panel lining solution performs better than a competitor’s, as the product has the least impact on the environment, by lowering embodied carbon, and maintaining high performance throughout a building, all waste is returned to the manufacturer to be recycled into new boards, thus avoiding landfill.
The NZP wall board solution used throughout the school is carbon-negative A1-A3. There are fewer layers required than conventional boards and with superior load hanging, defect guarantee, and resulting in this scheme of a 90% less pattressing and associated materials.
Adapted space for tailored education
The development of Treetops Free School began in 2016 due to the increased demand for places at its parent academy.
To increase the facility’s capacity and accommodate more pupils, it was decided a new school was needed which would adapt to changes in educational, medical and therapeutic needs.
The end result met the brief with the new building incorporating a sensory room for children, parental spaces for family therapy and rooms which provide agile solutions that can be tailored to the children using them.
We left no stone unturned to lower the carbon footprint of both the construction and operation of this free school – right down to the goat hair carpet tiles.
The timing couldn’t be better. While most schools are dreading their fuel bill this year, Treetops Free School will achieve net zero in operation – significantly helped by the energy generated by its PV panels.
The school is also set up to meet the teaching team’s needs today and to flex to how their needs may change in the future, and the whole building is designed so that it can be easily reconfigured.”
Main Contractor
Anthony Hattam, Headteacher, Treetops Free School
It is with great excitement that the pupils, staff and parents can now walk through the doors of Treetops Free School. Over the past 18 months, we have seen things slowly take shape, from an area of wasteland to the building we have today. Throughout this time, staff and pupils have been fortunate enough to make site visits and watch the progress of the build, and get to know many of the staff working on the site, I know that the pupils will certainly miss waving to ‘Tyler the Viking’ as they arrive at school every day
Being a part of a ‘Free School’ build, and one that is ‘net zero’ is certainly a once-in-a-career opportunity for many, and something that we feel privileged to be part of. Knowing that the school will not only help the pupils of Thurrock educationally, but also environmentally, is incredibly important to us all.
