William Perkin Church of England High School
Changing from a concrete frame to a PEFC-certified CLT and glulam construction, the school reduced the embodied carbon of the superstructure by 1,500 tonnes of CO2.
William Perkin Church of England High School
19 May 2017 Construction
William Perkin High School in Greenford, West London, is a four-storey complex containing 3,860m3 of timber.
The new £20 million school uses a combination of PEFC-certified cross laminated timber (CLT) and glulam to form the structure and architectural features and was originally designed as a concrete frame.
Changing from a concrete frame to a timber construction has reduced the embodied carbon of the superstructure by an estimated 1,500 tonnes of CO2.
The building also stores approximately 3,000 tonnes of CO2, sequestered within the timber. It will take approximately five years of operation before the school carbon emissions equal that stored within the structure.
Hidden steel elements are then used where required to achieve the structural requirements. The majority of the CLT structure was assembled in only 19 weeks. William Perkin High School embraced the timber approach to the building and even commissioned a CLT reception desk.
The School has achieved an airtightness rating of 2.37, an extremely good result. This can be credited to the design detailing, high performance of the PEFC-certified CLT and site workmanship. The building achieved a BREEAM score of ‘Very good’.
The details
Main contractor: Kier Construction
Client: William Perkin Church of England High School/Twyford Academies Trust
Architect: Feilden Clegg Bradley
Structural engineer: Arup Associates
Structural frame provider: KLH UK