Christ College, Brecon
New Science Facilities
"A very pleasant educational facility with a quality internal environment. This is a great building that has more than exceeded expectations."
The Requirement
Christ College is a co-educational independent boarding and day school, which was founded by Royal Charter in 1541 by King Henry VIII. Located in the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales, the school is one of Britain's oldest schools, with buildings dating back to the 13th Century.
Following a major bequest, the school had a requirement to expand its science facilities, bringing all its laboratories together under one roof and replacing an outdated 1950s block which is currently used for physics.
The Challenges
- To deliver a building with all the benefits of off-site construction and standardisation, whilst providing a bespoke solution and an outstanding architectural design that is in keeping with the existing school buildings and its national park location
- To meet the requirements of the planning authorities, resulting from the historic and environmentally sensitive setting for the building
- To provide a sustainable building solution for the school.
The Solution
Yorkon was awarded the £1.3m contract to build the new science facilities, designed by P+HS Architects.
16 steel-framed modules were manufactured off site in York, arriving at the school during the holidays to further reduce disruption to teaching. The use of off-site construction is also a more sustainable method of building and ensured completion on time and on budget.
The design of the new building responds to its sensitive location in the National Park, and incorporates local materials such as Welsh sandstone from a nearby quarry, together with render and timber cladding to complement the surrounding architecture.
It provides:
- two physics laboratories
- two biology laboratories
- a sixth form project room
- laboratory technician's rooms
- double height central atrium space that functions as a teaching area and exhibition space.
The scheme has a number of sustainable features, such as solar water heating to reduce energy consumption, energy-efficient lighting, natural ventilation and daylight and high levels of insulation to conserve energy.
The building has also been designed to be flexible and adaptable to change. The internal walls are non load-bearing and there are clear internal spans of up to 12m, so the teaching spaces and laboratories can easily be reconfigured to meet the school's changing requirements over time.
Comments from the Project Team
Emma Taylor, Head Teacher:
"The new building is fabulous and has created a superb new environment for encouraging talented young scientists. Everyone who has seen it, has been hugely impressed."
"Yorkon have been wonderfully innovative partners in the process. The sustainable design of the building was important, not only environmentally but educationally, as pupils can now see features such as solar heating at first hand."
"It was critical for us to have the new building up and running as soon as possible because it is built on the site of our original physics labs. The off-site approach allowed us to achieve this, and it has worked very well without any interruption to teaching."
Kieran Dempsey, Bursar:
"The Yorkon design and construction team worked closely with us from the earliest stages and have delivered a building that is exactly what we wanted - on time, on budget and in a very short timescale. The central atrium works particularly well and gives a feeling of space, and the quality is excellent. The project has certainly raised the bar in terms of quality and efficiency for any future construction work at the school."
Phil Bentley, Project Architect, P+HS Architects:
"The building is innovative given its off-site construction and through careful choice of local materials, it is rich and warm in appearance. There is an exceptional quality of light and space inside with the generous double height atrium which has given the school an additional gallery space to enjoy."
"It has a created a very pleasant educational facility with the quality of the internal environment. This is a great building that has more than exceeded our expectations."
