Mace Group

Mace helps make the future of education green

Mace was appointed in a project management, QS and CDMC role on the Hillside school project in Plymouth now known as the Brook Green Centre for Learning.  The new £5.5m school is one of the greenest schools in the country using natural light, solar power, rainfall and water heated by the earth to cut its water and electricity use.

Brook Green Centre for Learning is a new build, state of the art special needs school for 80 pupils aged between 11 and 16 years replacing the existing school on the site.  The school site occupies a 6.5 acre site in a predominantly residential area adjacent to a housing estate to the north and slopes to the south. The site is on the south side of a valley, benefiting from good solar gain. Access for coaches and minibus drop offs were needed and the existing car parking arrangements needed to be reviewed and rationalised.

The school proved a unique and challenging project for Mace as it is the first new school building in the country to specifically address the requirements of special educational needs specific to behaviour. Whilst the site positioning, building layout, built form and appearance of the school seem simple, the design strategies, curriculum integration and functional flexibility are inherently sophisticated.

Headteacher Cliff Edwards commented on the school: "“Not only do we believe we are the greenest school in the country, but we are not aware of one that has been so specifically designed around children with complex special educational, social and behavioural needs. Both staff and students were asked for their ideas on how they want their school to be."

The elegant integrated design solution is a result of rigorous and intelligent employment of low energy passive design strategies combined with addressing the complex special educational and social requirements of the school. The building design also focused on the health and safety of occupants.

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