Client: Cleadon C of E Academy
Duration: May 17 – December 17
Value: £510k
Location: Cleadon, Tyne & Wear
Northern Bear were tasked with a new build, timber frame extension to Cleadon C of E Academy which would act as the Nursery for the students prior to enrolling in the main school.
The original site was a large playground surrounded by 1200mm fencing and vegetation which required removing prior to a site strip and rerouting of existing services that ran through the middle of the proposed building.
The existing levels of the site required a retaining wall to the front car park the full length of the extension and some remedial works to the main carpark following the completion of the retaining wall. Existing ground levels were an issue throughout this project as the surrounding access roads and car parks created a valley-type surrounding which required the removal off a large quantity of material off site prior to the laying of playground subbase.
The new timber frame building sat on a raft foundation due to the soft earth below and was connected to the existing masonry building. The exterior walls of the timber frame building were formed with a render system with a large twinfix canopy to the rear of the building that acted as an indoor play area for the children during those rainy playtimes.
The main rooms of the extension consisted of a reception, meeting room, accessible WC, kitchen/staff room, cloak room, quiet room, toilet area and a large, open main nursery (shown in the photograph). The main nursery had exposed glu-lam timber beams that ran the width of the building with acoustic panels to reduce noise issues caused by the large open space and ceiling heights which were over 3.5m high in areas and aluminium windows and doors.
The internal areas were fitted out with specialist furniture including IPS system, worktops, kitchen and curved seating to the specialist semi-circle tea bar area. An UFH system was implemented and connected up to the existing system for the main school.
Externally the playground was encapsulated with new fencing and a planting area was created to a steep banked area for future use by students. The playground was finished off with a soft pour mix, with areas of flagging for access to the rear and side of the building for maintenance. Specialist playground equipment was fitted throughout the playground which included an amphitheatre, water feature, play tunnel and climbing frame.