Built on the site of the existing Holy Trinity School, the development provides 99 residential apartments on 7 floors above a new, enlarged school for 420 pupils. The school and residential accommodation are separated by a large, clear-span, area at third floor level incorporating a MUGA, play space and garden. This area is classified as ‘external’ space and is an innovative way of providing play-space on a confined site.
The major challenge is the support of the residential structure above the MUGA level to maximise the clear space for play and sport. This has been achieved by a grillage of deep post-tensioned transfer beams arranged to support the column layout above and accommodate the residential drainage and service requirements within their depth.
In order to construct the new building, a nearby redundant community centre was converted and temporary classrooms provided to decant the school until the new state-of-the-art facility is complete.
A reinforced concrete frame provides the necessary fire and acoustic resistance to both the school and residential accommodation. Flat slabs allow easy distribution of services and minimise storey heights. With a restriction on the overall height of the building, this has maximised the space available at the MUGA level.
