Comar Building Schools for the Future

"Building Schools for the Future" is the biggest single government investment in improving school buildings for over 50 years with the aim to rebuild or renew every secondary school in England over a 10-15 year period. The BSF report identifies the following key issues in school design: functionality, sustainability, buildability, efficiency, aesthetics and durability.  These guidelines influence every aspect of the building design, not least the building envelope.

Comar Systems are Functional

Natural daylight is identified as the principle means of illumination; a space is considered well lit if it has an average daylight factor of 4%-5% and a uniformity ratio of 0.3-0.4.   Naturally, maximising fenestration increases natural day lighting.  However, this must be balanced with consideration to building regulations. 

In order to achieve the exemplar designs piloted by the Government, large glazed facades have been included in the concepts and aluminium glazed façades are proving to be a natural choice.

Unlike the alternative materials, aluminium is light, strong and flexible which makes even the most demanding design brief achievable.  Because of high strength to weight ratio, aluminium systems are strong enough to support large expanses of glazed facades with minimal sight-lines.  This maximises daylight into the building, reducing the need for electric light and maximising solar gain.

Comar Systems are Aesthetic

The external envelope plays a key role in the building design; it must serve to welcome all members of the public and be accessible for younger generations as well as mature students. 

These inherent qualities and aluminium systems design consolidate practical and aesthetic issues which can arise when specifying for the external envelope.  This flexibility gives the architect a greater choice and freedom in design, whether the project is a refurbishment or a new build.  For example, the new façade system can either mimic the envelope's old design or it can bring the façade radically up-to-date.

Comar Systems are Sustainable

Sustainability, a criterion highlighted in the BSF report, is achieved through aluminium's inherent qualities.  We have at least 300 years of known reserves of the raw material, Bauxite, and this does not allow for the fact that 75% of all aluminium used is recycled at the end of its product life.

Comar Systems are Efficient

Thermally efficient products are an important factor in reducing the impact on the environment.  Minimising the use of energy is achieved through the use of thermally broken profiles.  To this end, aluminium doors, windows and curtain walling are Part L compliant and can achieve U-values well below 2.2W/m²k.

Comar Systems Provide Buildability

Tight deadlines are a serious issue in school construction and are particularly critical in refurbishment. The project deadlines can be especially restrictive and site work is expected to last between three to six weeks. This shortage of time calls for façades which can be installed quickly, thus reducing the onsite time.  With this in mind, aluminium curtain walling includes two methods of construction: stick build system, where the curtain wall is assembled on-site or ladder-frame, where it is fabricated in the factory into 'ladders', then transported to site.  These ladders have a two part mullion and plate which are 'clipped' together on site to allow fast, modular construction.

For Further Information

If you are currently designing a school and would like to discuss anything commented on here, please email projects@parksidegrp.co.uk, or call the Marketing Department on: (020) 8685 9685.

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