We’re passionate about career development and skill training, so it was a pleasure to work with Stratford-upon-Avon College of Further and Higher Education in its mission to revitalise and refresh their facilities to improve the experience of current and future students with a design and build contract.
We worked with Stratford-upon-Avon College of Further and Higher Education on a total upgrade of their campus and facilities. With a tight 16-week turnaround, fitting in line with the college’s summer break, the design and build contract required a comprehensive staged refurbishment of existing facilities. This involved the demolition of unsuitable buildings and the upgrade of retained ones.
Across the 10,000m² site, our expert team worked to provide teachers and students with fresh facilities ready to kickstart the new term; this included communal meeting areas and ‘contemplation zones’. Our knowledge and expertise in civil engineering meant we also undertook a full upgrade of pathways onsite, linking together the remaining educational departments in a practical and effective way.
Our civil engineering and construction practices build the foundation of the campus, but it was the details that brought the project to life. Following the installation of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) and attenuators and data and power infrastructure, we embedded hard and soft landscaping throughout, adding a green touch across the campus. We also equipped parking facilities with electronic vehicle (EV) charging points to support the school’s net zero ambitions.
As with all of our design and build projects, sustainability sat at the core of our works and practices. At Stratford-upon-Avon College, we were able to recycle 2,500 tonnes of demolished material to provide a suitable aggregate. This was then repurposed as capping material, saving on the amount of residual waste that would go to landfill, and the amount of quarried granular fill to be imported.
Putting student wellbeing at the centre of the project, we worked with the College right from the start to ensure that staff and families were aligned on the look and feel of their future facilities. Although working on the college outside of operating months, it was crucial that our works did not affect their day-to-day operations, meaning a tight schedule was upheld throughout construction.
With 65 years’ experience behind us, we know the intricacies of working on live sites. Stratford-upon-Avon College was a shining example of our ability to work to a tight brief, and resulted in a campus that will go on to support the education of thousands of students yet to come.
“Finally, please do pass on our thanks to all who works on the scheme. As mentioned yesterday, it is acknowledged that it was a tight programme with some challenges, but O’Brien’s pragmatic approach in dealing with the site issues and working with the college to deliver the project on time is much appreciated.”
Peter Harvey, Associate Director, MGAC
Sustainability:
We recycled 2500 tonne of demolition arisings that had been left onsite, crushed the hard waste to 40mm down aggregate and had it classified to a 6f2 granular fill material and reused this as capping saving on the amount of residual waste going to landfill and subsequently the import of quarried granular fill to make up levels.
Find out more about our Civil Engineering or Construction works here.