2005 Project Feature

Project Name:
The Campus, Weston Super Mare

Client:
North Somerset Council

Project Manager and Quantity Surveyor:
Dickson Powell Partnership

Architect:
David Morley Architects

Structural Engineer:
Price & Myers

Services Consulting Engineer:
Max Fordham LLP

Contractor:
Kier Western

The Campus in Weston-super-Mare combines community facilities with a primary school and a school for children with severe learning difficulties all on one site and in one building, winning both RIBA and RICS design and community awards.

The integrated design includes a new primary school for 420 children – the first completely new school to be built since North Somerset’s inception - and a 67-place special needs school catering for 3-19 year olds with learning difficulties including soft play room, hydrotherapy pool and sound and light therapy areas.

The scheme’s community facilities include an adult education centre, a library with internet access, meeting rooms and offices, as well as sports leisure facilities that include access to a multi purpose hall, changing areas and dining hall.

Outside areas include extensive parking, multi use games areas, a skate park, nature garden and an adventure area, with a range of playing fields.

The building is largely two storey. It is steel framed with a beam and block ground floor construction and pre-cast concrete first floor. The frame is supported off ground beams and pile caps on pre-cast concrete driven piles up to 20 metres deep. The curved roofs are finished with Kalzip standing seam sheets and the flat roofs have a single layer waterproof membrane. The external walls comprise a combination of local natural stone, western red cedar boarding and a proprietary rendering system. Internally the walls are generally constructed from metal stud partitions with gloss painted doors. The frame and services are exposed except within designated service corridor routes. Heating uses a combination of under floor heater mats and lower temperature water filled radiators. Natural ventilation is achieved via acoustic louvred boxes and opening north lights. Other features and facilities include canopies to provide rain shelter and glare protection, dimmable lighting, a hydrotherapy pool and a personal alarm protection and tracking system. The building is sprinkler protected to life saving standard.


Dickson Powell Partnership acted as quantity surveyors and project managers, providing cost and procurement advice and contract administration. The scheme was completed within 20 months from appointment to meet the Council’s need for primary school accommodation in this rapidly growing area and included the provision of a temporary school facility whilst the new was constructed. The contractor was selected by a two stage tender process on the basis of limited preliminaries and overheads and profit. The various and numerous sub-contract packages were tendered and let on an ‘open-book’ basis.