Ermington Community Primary School, Devon

Client: NPS South West
Type of works: design and manufacture of a modular building for use as a mobile classroom.

With the expansion of pre-school provision, Ermington Community Primary School in Devon required extra space rapidly. NPS South West, the property design and construction company were commissioned to provide the new building.

The brief was, “to provide a building that would change the style of the familiar mobile classroom.” Cost-effectiveness was top priority, as was a tight delivery schedule. Keith Stone, NPS’s surveyor approached Wernick Buildings, who was able to convert his specific design requirements into a factory-built reality. Keith commented that, “Ermington village is in a conservation area. So my design had to be sensitive to the surroundings. I chose modular construction because I have used it very successfully before. It’s fast, cost-effective and can be adapted to just about any educational design concept – it’s limited only by the designer’s imagination. The exterior of the building is partly finished in Siberian Larch; a sustainable wood that also compliments the school’s environment.”

After the new building’s ground works had been completed, the four bays which comprise the building were delivered and craned-in in one day. Finishing work took eight weeks. The building’s stone and timber exterior and slate roof ticked all the boxes for planning requirements within a conservation area.