Client: Holte, Mayfield & Lozells School, Birmingham
Contractor: Lend Lease Project Management & Construction
Type of works: supply of Intelivent Wall Mounted units, Exterior Louvers, Supply and Extract ventilation grilles
HML School in the Lozells area of Birmingham is the amalgamation of three schools on to one site developed under the “Building Schools for the Future” government initiative. The shared site consists of Holte Secondary School, Mayfield Special Needs School and Lozells Primary School. Holte & Lozells School were formerly based on this regenerated site.
The previous buildings were demolished and in their place a state of the art, sustainable and eco-friendly learning environment has been created. The buildings were constructed to deliver a low carbon solution of 27kg/m2, lowering energy consumption, operating and maintenance costs and at the same time provide an environment for the building occupiers that is both light and airy conducive to the improved learning platform.
GDL Air Systems supplied a natural ventilation solution to ventilate the majority of the classrooms and common areas by fresh air and heating from a biomass sustainable energy source. Our natural ventilation systems meet the government requirements for a ‘breathable building’ environment. The GDL Intelivent Wall Mounted units, part of the Intelivent Natural Ventilation range, were used throughout the buildings as an alternative to more commonly used mechanical ventilation. The Wall Mounted units were a particularly suitable method of ventilation for this type of building. Our design team at GDL Air Systems worked closely with Lend Lease and Birmingham Local Education Partnership to design the units to tailor the specification, to provide the ideal solution for each classroom. The final solution exceeded the Education Building Bulletin requirements.
From the early phases of this prestigious project, GDL Air Systems worked closely with the main contractor Lend Lease and Birmingham Council to develop a sustainable and energy efficient Natural Ventilation solution. Our Intelivent Wall Mounted units were selected as the most suitable product in our range for this type of environment.
There were various stipulations within the classrooms that our technical design team needed to adhere to in order to fulfil the requirements of our clients. One of the problematic areas was the depth of our wall mounted units, the units encroached the occupied area space restrictions. Our design team remodelled our existing unit to overcome the obstacle; the result was a bespoke slim-line design that complied to the necessary requirements.
Other bespoke requirements included the reinforcement of the unit covers to prevent wilful damage, including tamper proof fixings, a unique feature that is particularly useful in a learning environment.