Load bearing solution from Metsec for Liverpool school

Metsec have provided a load bearing steel frame for a special needs school in Liverpool.

Due to staff and pupils being hampered by the lack of outdoor space and modern learning facilities at Palmerston School, a new school building was sought after.

The new, £7 million T-shaped single storey building features a dining and sports hall, along with a new hydrotherapy and splash pool, plus sensory learning spaces.

A five-a-side football pitch and four-lane grass running track around the pitch perimeter are also included.

The project will see pupils move from the existing location in Woolton to Minehead Road, in the Aigburth area of Liverpool.

Metsec were able to use its BIM capabilities during the design stages to provide detailed plans and costings. They was required on-site from the start, completing the steel framing last summer.

Metsec attended regular main contractor team meetings with the BIM model, allowing for any issues to be resolved in advance of the build. Using BIM meant the project benefitted from a reduced timing programme and no waste, both providing significant cost savings.

The blueprint of the school building presented several structural challenges, but MetSec were more than capable of dealing with them.

Studs within the joisted roof were extended out to overhang the external walls in order to create the overhang desired.

Another roofing design requirement within the structure was a duo pitched roof.

To enable the sloping element, Metsec used longer stud sections of a high gauge to accommodate the longer spans required and the larger load placed on the studs.

The school has invested in a substantial server room, in order to house the complex technologies being implemented into the school, which required a large number of ducts. This needed a substantial amount of openings within the wall which Metsec incorporated into the specification.

Metsec’s strong engagement from the outset of the project meant it could provide bespoke, flexible solutions, pivotal in enabling the complex design aspects desired by the client.

Ryan Simmonds, sales director of framing at Metsec, commented: “Palmerston School was an interesting project from a design perspective and, in using BIM, all parties benefited from a central model that could be amended and revised throughout the early stages to produce an accurate plan during the delivery stages.”