Ormiston Rivers Academy

The Ormiston Rivers Project was delivered within just 22 weeks, in time for the new 2022 academic year. This was despite original plans being bought forward as the facility was originally required in August 2023. The project is the first our team have completed through the new iteration of the Essex Construction Framework 2 (ECF2) along with St Luke’s School.

Key Stats

Delivered through the Essex Construction Framework 2 (ECF2)
Delivered within 22 Weeks
Saved 70 tonnes of Carbon
70% roof covered with PV panels
Offsite SIPS solution

At a Glance

Client

Essex County Council

Budget

£1.8m

Completion

August 2022

Location

Burnham on Crouch, Essex

Framework

Essex Construction Framework 2

Sector

Education

Sustainability

70 tonnes of carbon saved

About Ormiston Rivers

The new facility is a standalone 4740 sqft, five class base building with a group room, associated plant, circulation, and W. C’s. Externally, the project includes additional car parking, cycle storage and a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA). The new extension has now enabled the school to accommodate a further 150 school places which will help address the growing number of school places required for the community.

Project Specifics

The project, which is a single storey five classroom building was developed within close proximity to a strategic 180no housing development. As such, any development, and in particular any two-storey school development, would need to maintain adequate separation distance from the northern boundary to avoid overlooking onto residential properties. The facility would also have to minimise any loss of sunlight to these houses. This was carefully considered during the planning stages, which part formed the reason why the extension was single storey.

49Z002_M83_medium — Wide angle drone shot of the new facility

MMC/Offsite Construction Solution

As part of the clients overarching outcomes for the building, it was required within the brief to provide a building that had a sustainable design. Through using our Intelligent Solutions approach, the team discussed options for an MMC / offsite solution. Rather than opting for a concrete roof, the team opted for offsite Structural Insulation Panels (SIPS). SIPs are fabricated using timber from sustainable sources. SIPs use less timber than timber frame and are one of the most economical and eco-friendly forms of construction. They were also programme effective as they are manufactured offsite. Was this quicker? If so, buy how much?

Carbon Neutral

The Essex Council and ECF2 had an ambition that the new facility would be carbon neutral. The facility has effective ventilation throughout via an air source heat pump which transfers heat from the air to water. The purpose of an air source heat pump is to heat the rooms via the radiators or underfloor heating with heat stored in a hot water cylinder, ultimately recycling the energy in the building.

There are also room temperature sensors installed in each classroom and energy efficient lights which are controlled by Bluetooth, these do not require any wiring or containment. Along with having 76 Photovoltaics (PV) panels upon the roof, the building has also achieved an EPC rating A+ to ensure the building is thoroughly sustainable and efficient. Is it carbon neutral/net zero in operation? If so, I think we just state it as an end sentence.

Social Impact

The team have supported the local community with a cohesive Social Value plan. This plan included a number of initiatives which all benefitted the community. The project team donated surplus materials such as timber and pallets to the neighbours of the project. Material had also been donated to the school which went into the construction of a new storage shed.

The project team also advertised labour roles for the project locally which resulted in the employment of two employees from within the community. Along with this, there were three trainees and four subcontractor apprentices on site which allowed us to continue investing in the next generation of construction workers.

I would personally like to thank the Morgan Sindall team, both the front room and the often-forgotten back-room teams for completing this project earlier than was programmed, this was always a difficult project in relation to Programme and ultimately handover to the end user, to be honest when it landed on my desk with the proposed Programme, I thought it might not actually happen. However, Morgan Sindall took on the challenge and run with it at full tilt with the utmost professionalism and produced not only a first-class product, but they actually blew the Programme out of the water and finished earlier than what was programmed. In light of the aforementioned, please feel free to offer my personal thanks to the entire team who were involved in this project; I for one would be pleased to work with Morgan Sindall in any future Essex County Council projects”.

Phil Cowland - NEC Project Manager (Civils & Buildings), Essex County Council