Project overview

Waldeck were appointed by the Elliott Group as Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) Engineering Consultant on five new-build primary schools, secured in the DfE PSBP2 Framework. We are pleased to share that four of these schools have now been handed over to the end client with the fifth school having a target completion date of June 2020.

Our solution

For all schools, Waldeck were appointed to provide:

  1.  M&E pre-contract services – This included determining the initial building M&E services loadings and liaising with utilities companies for quotations and advice on upgrade works to suit the new development.
  2. M&E performance design – Our team then carried out initial modelling of the predicted daylight and overheating, based on measured weather data, and advised of various options to maximise daylight, whilst ensuring compliance with the CIBSE TM52 overheating assessment. An M&E performance design was prepared for inclusion with Elliott’s final Contractor’s Proposals, and against which sign off was received by the DfE.
  3. Review of detailed design – Detailed design was then developed by the M&E Contractor and during this stage, Waldeck acted as Technical Assessors to ensure, as the design developed, that the principles of the performance design were adhered to and compliance with the DfE’s brief maintained.
  4. Construction stage technical support – During the construction stage, our team provided off-site support for queries and carried out regular site visits to review for compliance.

The results

This project consisted of the provision of temporary decant accommodation from the outset of the scheme due to site area restrictions. Following occupation of the temporary accommodation, demolition of the existing buildings took place. The new two-storey 2,196m2 building included an allowance of 124m2 for nursery provisions for 30 children. Final activities included transferring of teaching provision from the temporary accommodation into new facilities, and their final removal and completion of external works.

In addition to our core services, for this particular school, our team designed a photovoltaics system as part of the M&E solution for the school, to achieve compliance with local planning requirements. The PV system was designed to secure at least a 20% saving in CO2 emissions from energy use through on-site generation of renewable energy.

Our team also prepared an external lighting assessment report, due to the proximity of the surrounding residential areas. The report influenced the external lighting design as we chose external lighting and suitable controls, to ensure that no nuisance light to the adjacent area, from the new school’s external lighting.