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 | | COMPETITION ENCOURAGES NEW THINKING IN SCHOOL BUILDINGS | | | Terrapin | | 31/07/2007 | | | A new design competition launched by Terrapin will give architecture students and junior practices the chance to change the way we think about re-locatable buildings for schools.
The Government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme will transform the nation’s schools over the next 15 years. Hundreds of schools will be rebuilt or refurbished, and while this work is carried out – generally over a period of around two years – the pupils need to be ‘decanted’ into alternative accommodation.
A new design competition launched by Terrapin will give architecture students and junior practices the chance to change the way we think about re-locatable buildings for schools.
The Government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme will transform the nation’s schools over the next 15 years. Hundreds of schools will be rebuilt or refurbished, and while this work is carried out – generally over a period of around two years – the pupils need to be ‘decanted’ into alternative accommodation.
Because this represents a significant proportion of a student’s school experience, it is considered vital that this temporary ‘decant’ accommodation is of a sufficiently high standard to meet the objectives enshrined in the BSF programme.
Recognising the possibilities this offers to innovative architects, Terrapin has launched the BSF Design Award in partnership with RIBA, SCALA, NPS and 21st Century Schools, to develop the re-locatable classroom of the future.
Announcing the competition, Damian McColgan, Head of Business Development at Terrapin, said, “This is also a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink the way we approach the design, manufacture and life-cycle of relocatable buildings for schools. We have worked with the Department for Children Schools and Families (DfES) on developing a standard for higher quality, longer lasting re-locatable school accommodation that can me moved from school to school maybe ten times over its design life. The result should be a sustainable, modern and commercial design of temporary classroom that we can all be proud of and that our children can all benefit from.”
The BSF sees this as an opportunity to exploit economies of scale through the adoption of standardized specifications and a whole life cost approach – while meeting the highest standards of sustainability. This makes it an ideal opportunity for turnkey solutions based around off site construction – one of Terrapin’s core capabilities.
“With over 50 years’ experience in pioneering off-site building techniques for both temporary and permanent structures, Terrapin uses modern construction technologies to deliver better buildings faster and more sustainably,” says Damian. “The challenge to Britain’s architectural design community is to find groundbreaking ways to exploit the benefits of these techniques and challenge orthodox thinking on what a school building should look like and how it should function.
“This is a great opportunity for people in architecture schools or junior practices to make a real impact on the schools of the future. Terrapin is proud to be able to support this award and we look forward to seeing the innovative approaches it inspires.”
Terrapin is a privately owned company which has been expanding the potential of modern methods of off-site construction since 1949. It grew with the development of modular classroom buildings throughout the baby boom and is now a leader in factory assembled modular buildings such as hotels, prisons, hospitals, schools and apartments. | |
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