Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Essex High School Completes Four-Year Renovation Project

  • By Matt Jones
  • 06/18/24

Brentwood County High School in Brentwood, Essex, United Kingdom, recently completed a four-year project to approve student accessibility and retention, according to a news release. Additions to the school include two new specialist teaching blocks, a renovated sports hall, new landscaping, and a multi-use play area. The school partnered with multidisciplinary consultancy Pick Everard for the project’s design and contractor Bowmer + Kirkland for construction.

The project also involved the restoration of the school’s main building, designed in the 1930s. The new teaching blocks, which take the place of demolished teaching facilities, will contain dedicated spaces for general teaching, science, art, and design technology.

“This was a huge scope of work which ties into key objectives for the educational sector. The school had a clear vision to bring its services in line with modern standards and create something industry-leading to attract and retain students in the area,” said Lizzy Bennett, Pick Everard director. “Given its long-term nature, we knew there had to be minimal interference to the teaching and the student experience. This meant splitting the required accommodation between two individual buildings, while the refurbishment of the sports hall took place early on in the project to ensure exams could continue without disruption.”

The building envelope includes photovoltaic (PV) solutions and a “fabric-first” approach to thermal design. The Bowmer and Kirkland “configure system” is a standardized approach to construction that meets Department for Education requirements and school planning systems’ regulations. Any individual needs are customized into the existing template. Extra high glazing on staircases was “back designed” into Brentwood County High School to meet new standards that evolved during the project.

“Heritage was also a key consideration for the building design, with our teams developing a bespoke and sympathetic heritage colour palette in line with the school’s identity, which was then carried through all facilities across the school, creating cohesion across the campus,” said Bennett. “We’re proud to have helped deliver this remarkable school alongside Bowmer + Kirkland, creating a standard of excellence in design for the region.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Auburn University Debuts $224M STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., recently opened its new $224-million STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex, the largest research construction project in the university’s history, according to university news. The facility measures more than 265,000 square feet and brings six departments from the College of Agriculture and College of Sciences and Mathematics together under one roof.

  • UT-San Antonio Begins Residence Hall Renovations

    The University of Texas at San Antonio recently began a $6-million renovation project to one of its residence halls, according to a news release. Originally completed in 1986, Chisolm Hall measures in at 120,860 square feet and is the oldest and largest residence hall on campus.

  • Phoenix High School Completes First Phase of Campus Renovations

    Metro Tech High School, part of the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) in Phoenix, Ariz., recently announced the completion of the first stage of a campus renovation project, according to a news release. The school reopened a series of public-facing business operations spaces including credit union, daycare, floral, cosmetology, and culinary services. It also includes new CTE learning spaces for the school’s nursing assistant, pharmacy, and sports medicine programs.

  • Amazon Expands Lockers to More Than 500 College, University Campuses

    Amazon recently announced that its Locker Network now totals more than 750 locations at more than 500 college and university campuses around the United States, according to a company news release.