Gleniffer High School is located on Amochrie Road, Foxbar, Renfrewshire.
The site comprises approximately 11.3 hectares of land bounded by Amochrie Road to the west, houses to the north and Stanely Reservoir and houses to the south.
The new Gleniffer High School will be constructed on the same site as the existing school with the existing school remaining in use during construction. Following completion of the new school the existing building will be demolished to make way for new playing fields. This situation presents the design team with the challenge of developing a proposal which can be constructed while the existing school still functions and provide a new building which will meet the requirements of the brief.
The site is split over two levels, linked by steeply sloping ground and has good access from the existing road network. The new school will be built on the lower level of the site, which is well screened from neighbouring properties by existing mature trees and dense bushes. The design team have taken into account the proximity of neighbouring properties by placing the majority of the school accommodation away from the Northern boundary. In order to reduce the visual impact of the school the three storey teaching wing is placed against the base of the grassed hill to the South. From this anchor point the remaining two storey wings are laid out enclosing the gym block and defining the extent of the social space.
The two to three-storey structure will be formed using a steel frame. It is envisaged the ground floor slab will comprise suspended pre-cast concrete units and ground bearing cast in-situ concrete
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More Info on Gleniffer High School:
Architect: JMA
Engineer: URS
M & E: Rybka / Hill’s Electrics
FM: Amey
Value: £20m
Duration: 14 Mar ’05 – 11 Aug ’06 (74 weeks)
The two to three storey structure and the high level roof over the dining hall and gym will be formed using a steel frame, supported by a series of reinforced concrete pad and strip footings. The concrete ground floor slab will be cast on solid. The building elevations will comprise cavity wall construction in facing blockwork and prefabricated timber inner leaf.
The foundations will consist of end bearing piles taken to suitable bearing stratum at a depth of between 6 and 11.0m. Loads will be transferred to the piles using reinforced concrete pile caps and ground beams. Piles will be designed to resist the building loads and will be distributed to suit the superstructure layout.
The main building frame will be constructed using conventional steel column and beam sections. The upper floors will be formed using composite steel and concrete floors with downstand beam sections connected to the slab via through deck welded shear studs. The structure will be stabilised in both directions using vertical cross bracing to transmit lateral loads to foundation level.
Finishes will include aluminium framed double glazed windows, solid core laminate internal doors, internal walls of 140mm fair faced concrete block, ·modular suspended ceiling system with lay-in tiles and plasterboard suspended ceiling system, with carpets, vinyl and ceramic floor tiles.
The mono pitched roof structure will comprise cold-formed purlins, positioned at appropriate centres and supported on sloping steel rafters. The roof structure will have plan bracing to allow wind loads to be transmitted along the roof and down through the vertical cross bracing.
Creative use of hard and soft landscaping will ensure the building is fully integrated with the external areas while at the centre of the school lies a landscaped courtyard. High quality paving material is proposed at the main frontage providing an easily identifiable and welcoming entrance.
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