Construction work began this week on one of the country’s first ‘eco-schools’, following the joint appointment of project manager Mace and contractor Botes

Mace, working on behalf of Hertfordshire County Council, will build Howe Dell primary school in Hatfield, which will take a ‘green’ approach to construction, material, curriculum and management. The £10m scheme is designed by Ruddle Wilkinson Architects and is scheduled for completion by Easter 2007. The site is located on a former British Aerospace aerodrome site and the building will use natural timber cladding, a 50-kilowatt wind turbine and photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electricity and a grass roof. It aims to appeal to a whole community by including a nursery, child day-care facility and community centre.

The initiative is being funded by the county council and the developers of the former aerodrome site, with the Carbon Trust and Scottish Power donating energy grants.

Mace project manager Richard Watson said one of the energy saving systems on the scheme – a system that stores heat underneath the playground – was particularly innovative. “There is no other building in the UK that uses that system,” he said.

Source

QS News