Stroma appointed to secure demanding permeability target
Project: Judgemeadow Community College, LeicesterClient: Leicester City Council/Leicester Miller Education Co Ltd
Contractor: Miller Construction
Project Worth: £16m
As regular air-tightness testing advisors to Miller Construction, Stroma was appointed to secure a demanding permeability target rate of less than 5m3/(m2.hr) @ 50Pa for Judgemeadow College in Leicester.
Judgemeadow College is one of four schools to be completely remodelled under Leicester City Council's £325 million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. The BSF is a government led initiative aimed at providing UK authorities with funds to invest in the educational needs of students. Judgemeadow College was built to provide 1,200 pupils with high-tech learning facilities in safe and sustainable surroundings.
Designed to maximise space and attain the highest energy efficient standards, Judgemeadow College boasts flexible classrooms with partition walls that open up, sensors to monitor and control the internal building temperature and two 250kW chip biomass boilers.
Given the college's robust and proactive response to sustainability, it was crucial that Judgemeadow achieved its air permeability target of below 5m3/ (m2.hr) @ 50Pa. Having worked on successful projects with Stroma previously, Miller Construction trusted our ability to provide a variety of consultancy services to achieve this target.
From the outset of the project, Stroma Technology conducted design workshops to establish an air barrier strategy for the building and review any potential air leakage areas. Stroma Contracting was also called upon to provide additional works on the building, to guarantee that all interfaces were air-sealed to compliance requirements. When the building was close to completion, members of Stroma Technology conducted a final detailed inspection, in order to verify that preparations were complete for our team to conduct the concluding UKAS accredited air-tightness test.
Judgemeadow College surpassed its target of 5m3/ (m2.hr) @ 50Pa, with an air permeability rate of 4.68 m3/ (m2.hr) @ 50Pa. Given the college's size and complex geometry, this was a well received result.
Stroma was employed for all the Miller Construction Leicester BSF projects, including Soar Valley College (shortlisted for 'Best Use of Outside Space' and 'Innovation in PE & Sport' in the 2009 BSF Excellence Awards) and Beaumont Leys School (winner of 'Best BSF School' and 'Grand Prix Award for Best Overall BSF project').
For further information, call 0845 621 11 11 or email info@stroma.com. Alternatively, visit www.stroma.com for full details of Stroma's service offering.
