Sheppey school benefits from Gilberts

Gilberts Blackpool has provided eight bespoke high performance penthouse terminals to a new school on the Isle of Sheppey.

Through strategic positioning along the centre of the two storeys on the school’s roof, they offer an unobtrusive, zero carbon solution to preserving a bright, fresh environment within.

Main contractor Kier has designed and built the £5million Halfway Houses School, where the use natural ventilation is highly desired. Therefore, Kier turned to Gilberts, Britain’s leading independent air movement specialist, to create a strategy.

Gilberts’ team devised an innovative solution that  capitalised on natural ventilation, as well as natural light within. The bespoke terminals were designed, tested and manufactured in-house by Gilberts.

This was to draw both fresh air into the building, via an integrated high efficiency damper, and exhaust the used air, using passive stack principles.

Each terminal is topped with a double-glazed ridged roof light, so to optimise natural light along the length of the school’s central corridor and break-out learning areas.

This further reduces the carbon footprint, as it reduces the reliance on artificial light.

Kier Senior Site Manager, Andy Filmer, commented: “Halfway Houses is in a popular catchment area, so needed to provide extra capacity to accommodate intake. It was deemed to be more effective to relocate and build a new school in the vicinity.

“Our brief was to develop a sustainable building, to reflect the school’s ethos of encouraging a healthy curiosity in the natural world.  

“Our design reflects that, and provides a natural, welcoming environment with internal connectivity to the outside- hence the use of a wood clad façade, natural ventilation and natural light.

“Gilberts designed the roof terminals to our exact requirements, to create an efficient solution that enhanced the internal and external aesthetics and minimised the building’s carbon emissions.”

All Gilberts products are developed in-house, from design, through tooling to production, at its 90,000 square ft manufacturing facility in Blackpool.

Contact:

Gilberts of Blackpool,
Gilair Works,
Clifton Road,
Blackpool,
FY4 40T

Phone: 01253 766911
Fax: 01253 767941

Visit Gilberts of Blackpool's website

Visit Supplier's page