PCE Scoops Concrete Society Award
Reepham Sixth Form College in Norfolk has been named as a “Certificate of Excellence” winner in the 2010 Concrete Society awards.
Scooping the joint runner-up prize in the Building Category, the college, featuring a precast concrete core designed and built by PCE, was singled out for its innovative design and energy conservation features.
The judging panel commented: “This is a very interesting and successful use of precast concrete in new innovative ways. Concrete as used here clearly contributes to energy conservation and internal physical comfort.
The superstructure primarily comprises precast panels, with a partial steel frame to provide support in the longer-span open-plan areas. The building makes extensive use of thermal mass for night-time cooling in summer, with sophisticated control systems for the opening windows.
The building has an attractive external appearance and the architecture reflects the character of the main material used – full-width precast panels on the main elevations. Joints between units are featured in black mastic and are remarkably consistent in width, a testament to both the quality of the precasting and the accuracy of the site foundation works.
Most of the external and internal surfaces were ex-mould and directly painted – a further testament to the quality of the precasting. The appearance was excellent and, of course, made the concrete directly available as thermal mass, a crucial part of the overall environmental design.
‘It is a delightful small-scale building, constructed to excellent quality.’
