The ground-breaking Harris Invictus Academy, built as part of a larger regeneration project in the Croydon area, chose Heckmondwike’s Supacord, with BREEAM A+ rating, to help them achieve a low carbon and energy-efficient design.

Harris Invictus Academy in Croydon, South London, is a modern secondary academy that opened its doors to pupils in 2018.

The £20 million free school project was conceived by grassroots community group Invictus and procured in partnership with the Harris Federation – providing education for up to 1,150 pupils, aged 11-18.

The site forms part of a wider regeneration programme for the area, which was badly affected by the 2012 riots. The development needed to be the catalyst for change, with the requirement for the developers and architects to create a vibrant, secure learning environment with civic qualities and community access.

Working together, main contractor Galliford Try and architect, Scott Brownrigg did just that.

The imposing building entrance, at street level, has community spaces that are frequently used. The education areas are split over three and four storeys and include; classrooms, a sports hall, main hall, activity studio, dining area, library, music room, reception area as well as other teaching and office space and storerooms.

The building design is low carbon and energy-efficient – it was also named project of the year at the Education Estates Awards 2018.

With its long-standing relationship, Heckmondwike worked closely with Galliford Try throughout the landmark development. Overall, Heckmondwike supplied 3,000 square metres of Supacord carpet tiles to the project.

Supacord is Heckmondwike’s market-leading commercial carpet – available in both sheet and tile form. Since 1973, Heckmondwike has manufactured Supacord at its facility in Liversedge, West Yorkshire, with the product forging a reputation as being the number one soft flooring solution for the education sector.

Heckmondwike’s carpet tiles were installed on-site by AC Flooring.