Shorefields New Model Special School, on Holland Road in Clacton-on-Sea, for 116-130 pupils aged from three to 19, will be transformed, eliminating an institutional feel and creating a stimulating, technology-rich environment ideal for special education needs (SEN).

Existing learning spaces at the school will be enhanced so they are large enough to teach key skills to all pupils with a range of special educational needs. Colour, light and visual links will be introduced as part of a contemporary design that improves wayfinding and gives a clear “rite of a passage” from lower school to middle school and then college. New accommodation will be created at the heart of the school to increase community links and provide a centre for community activities. Throughout, access and circulation will be improved via enhanced lift provisions and mobility aid storage.

De La Salle School and Language College, a voluntary aided Catholic comprehensive school on Ghyllgrove, Basildon, for young people aged 11 to 16, will be remodelled and receive 2,060 sq m of new build accommodation to radically improve circulation and add an exciting range of new spaces. The project will deliver a large dining space, a new drama space, learning resource centre, students WCs, site manager’s office, community area, student services facilities, new visitor reception, design technology & art department, a new student entrance and external landscaping.

The present school has 750 pupils, the number having risen following the success of the
school, including receiving a “good” rating from Ofsted in 2010 and being granted language college specialist status. The new environment will be focused around positive student social and learning spaces that support the breadth and flexibility of the curriculum. ICT solutions support activities across the site, while spirituality is the backdrop for learning.

Together, the schools have benefitted from an approximately £17 million investment.

Sean Weston, project director at Astudio, said: “We are thrilled to see these two designs, each transformational in their own way, coming to life. Both schools will become more welcoming, inspiring and better equipped to carry out their critical work, supporting pupils, parents, carers and the community.”

Team credits:
Project team for both schools: Astudio (Architects); Plincke (Landscape Architects); Curtins (Structure and Civils); Silcock Dawson (Sustainability & Energy); Wates Construction (Contractor).

The company, part of the privately owned Clugston Group, which also has interests in logistics and property has made significant inroads into the sustainability sector securing three major Energy from Waste (EfW) contracts.

The projects, in Lincolnshire, Staffordshire and Oxfordshire , are progressing well in conjunction with joint venture partner Constructions Industrielles de la Méditerranée (CINIM) with whom Clugston are also at preferred bidder stage on a further three large EfW schemes.

These will contribute to the company’s significant forward order book, which also includes contracts from key customers in the industrial sector, education – where Clugston recently won its first scheme under the national Partnership for Schools framework – and its recent success in growing its facilities management business.

Steve Radcliffe, Clugston Construction’s managing director commented: “We are extremely pleased with these results, which we are aware run counter to the general construction market place as it still remains depressed. The results have been achieved thanks to a lot of hard work by our entire team and sticking to our strategy of developing a responsive value for money service from our regional offices, whilst developing our expertise in the growing waste reduction and renewables sector.

Clugston Construction is – as part of the Clugston Group which this year is celebrating its 75th anniversary – looking to raise £75,000 for worthy causes. Ten charities – chosen by the Group’s staff – will benefit from the fundraising efforts, which include conquering the Yorkshire three peaks and cycling from Lincoln to Boston.

Gateshead Council hand derelict Police Station to young architects for Cultural Olympiad art project

(Newcastle, May 15 – 2012) A group of young architects are to transform a derelict Police Station near Newcastle into a public art space thanks to a project connected to the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Old Police House at Swinburne Road, Gateshead, will be transformed by Space Invaders, a group of under-employed architecture graduates who are working with art and design students from Gateshead to reclaim unwanted spaces for creative and artistic expression.

Space Invaders is led by Rachel McDonagh, an architecture graduate from Newcastle University, and run by archiGRAD, a collective of un- or underemployed young architects and design graduates supported by Northern Architecture.

It is one of 15 cultural projects receiving funding from NE-Generation, the Legacy Trust UK programme for the North East; creating a lasting impact from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by funding ideas and local talent to inspire creativity across the UK.

Rachel, said: “I believe this is the first time that Gateshead Council has ever handed over ownership of a derelict building to a group of young people for purely creative purposes.

Space Invaders is about engaging young people by discovering the potential in underused people and spaces and allowing them to interact creatively with the environment around them.”

The house will be cleaned up, regenerated and used as an arts space for young people in Gateshead.

Over the next few months, it will evolve into an unconventional arts space before hosting a public exhibition during The Bridges Festival, from August 4-5, and featuring in a collective showcase of work by NE-Generation projects for the Cultural Olympiad in September.

Ben Ayrton, programme manager for NE-Generation, said: “Space Invaders is a fascinating and democratic project that gives young people a chance to decide how to take unwanted space and turn it into art.

During the process these young people learn how to work hard, communicate with one another, pull in the same direction and make a positive contribution to their community through culture-led regeneration.”

Space Invaders started work on the property on Saturday and stripped away paint, cleared debri and rubbish and sanded down surfaces.

The group was helped to claim the property by somewhereto_, a Legacy Trust UK funded project that helps young people aged 16-25 find the space they need to do the things they love within sports, culture and the arts.
Since 2009, NE-Generation has worked with 25 young leaders, from Northumberland to Teesside, who have so far co-commissioned 15 projects and allocated over £1million of funding as it seeks to create a shift in the way young people and the cultural sector work together.
NE-Generation has already worked directly with over 4,000 young people and reached audiences of over 175,000. Projects will be holding events, exhibitions, showcases and performances throughout the summer as part of the Cultural Olympiad celebrations.

“We don’t get a shortage of volunteers to help.”

To enter, schools should explain their project in at least 300 words including how it would be sustainable and what the benefits would be.

Schools are encouraged to submit drawings, photographs and statements and send them with the application form, right, to the Oxford Mail, Newspaper House, Osney Mead, OX2 0EJ by Thursday, June 14.

Shortlisted projects must not require planning permission or major structural changes, and the winning scheme will be carried out during the summer holidays.
A panel of judges from the Oxford Mail and Leadbitter will choose 10 finalists, each of whom will have their proposals showcased in the Mail.
Then it will be down to schools to start collecting tokens printed in the paper.
They will be mathematically weighted according to the size of the school to give everyone an equal chance of winning. The lucky winner will be announced in July.
With a turnover approaching £450m, the Leadbitter Group is one of the UK’s leading construction businesses, employing more than 100 people at its head office in Abingdon, and with regional offices across the South West and Wales.

The campaign calls for the introduction of a “Wood First” rule in local authority planning guidance. This would require sustainably sourced wood to be considered, where feasible, as the primary construction material in all new-build and refurbishment projects. The organisation states that this will help the UK meet local, national and sectoral targets for carbon reduction.

Such a rule is already in place in many other parts of the world, most notably France, as a key element of climate policy. Current proposals from the European Commission will enable the carbon stored in harvested wood products to be taken into account in national carbon budgets.

Wood for Good says that several local authorities are already considering versions of the Wood First rule, including a major London borough.

Timber’s low carbon properties have already been well documented in a range of scientific studies and academic reports, which outline how wood actively mitigates against the effects of carbon change by absorbing CO2 and emitting oxygen during the growth process, resulting in carbon being captured in timber products.

David Hopkins, Head of External Affairs for Wood for Good said: “Increasing forest cover is recognised as one of the most effective weapons we have in the battle against climate change, and the best way to achieve this is to stimulate demand for sustainable timber and wood products. The introduction of a Wood First rule will help to make this happen.

“Introducing the rule would bring multiple benefits to local authorities. It will help drive efficiencies by increasing the speed of construction, while timber’s exceptional thermal insulation properties will enable them to create homes and buildings that consume less energy.

“When you add in the wider positive economic, biodiversity and community impacts, it’s obvious that one of the most effective ways to build a low carbon future is to start with Wood First.”

The Wood First campaign has strong support from a wide range of stakeholders, including the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC), which was the first organisation to set global standards for responsible forest management, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forestry Certification (PEFC UK) and Confederation of Forest Industries: promoting forestry and wood (CONFOR).

Charles Thwaites, the Executive Director of the Forest Stewardship Council’s UK National Office, said: “Deforestation is still a major issue in many parts of the world with devastating impacts on the environment and local communities. Nevertheless the Forest Stewardship Council is convinced that timber harvested in a responsible manner can be environmentally appropriate, beneficial to local peoples and make a fair economic return. This is why we believe that timber products, when sourced from forests managed and certified to our exacting standards, can be regarded as one of the world’s most sustainable materials.

Stuart Goodall, Chief Executive of Confor: promoting forestry and wood, said: “It is about time we put Wood First in this country. The forest based industries play a vital role in the rural and wider economy in the UK yet they receive little attention or support. We believe this campaign will help place our sector at the vanguard of the low-carbon economy, developing renewable, recyclable materials from a renewable supply chain.”

Wood for Good has long been promoting a Wood First approach for architects and engineers through the CPD courses and other promotional work it runs. It has now started engaging several local authorities to discuss ways in which a Wood First rule could help them meet their sustainability objectives.

Wood and carbon: Some facts and figures.

For every cubic metre of timber or wood products used in construction, approximately one tonne of carbon dioxide is saved.

Wood products have some of the best thermal performance properties of any mainstream construction material. Wood insulates 15 times better than concrete, 400 times better than steel and 1,770 times better than aluminium.

Europe’s stock of wood products stores an estimated 220 million tonnes of carbon.

The timber industry employs nearly 200,000 people in the UK and is worth nearly £20 billion to the UK economy. As demand for wood grows, so will the industry, increasing the strength of the rural economy in the UK.

Currently, European forests provide a carbon sink for around 150-200 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, with an additional 500 million tonnes sequestered annually. These same forests also provide approximately 90% of European timber and wood products, which store an additional 220 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Climate change experts have claimed that simply by increasing the UK’s forest cover from 12 to 16 per cent, the country could, by 2050, abate up to 10% of our national carbon dioxide emissions.

At end-of-life, timber can either be recycled into panel boards and other products or used for renewable energy recovery.

Between 12-30 tonnes of carbon can be stored in the fabric and content of an average timber house

A ten per cent increase in the percentage of wooden houses in Europe would produce sufficient CO2 savings to account for about 25% of the reductions prescribed by the Kyoto Protocol.