Woodvale Construction delivered the design development and construction of Holy Evangelists’ Primary School at Glasvey Drive, Dunmurry. The first phase, completed in May 2021, provided a two-storey, steel-framed, 21-class-base primary school built on the site of the existing school premises with two multi-purpose halls, a nurture suite, separate dining hall, school meals kitchen and stores. The second phase, handed over in November 2021, includes a double nursery unit with school meals server, additional car parking, a MUGA sports pitch and grassed play.
The 1970s’ school building had outgrown the pupils and was no longer fit for purpose, while, flooding had impacted the structure on a number of occasions. The Woodvale Construction team had a number of challenges to overcome – the live school environment, restricted site and busy urban area being the most obvious obstacles. Low vibration piling was employed to minimise the noise, vibration and disturbance to the pupils during construction. The new school building design has raised the floor levels by 1m to mitigate the risk of flood damage. Further challenges involved asbestos removal and dust prevention measures. The buildability of the roof was also complex due to the traditional tile and stone abutments meeting with the contemporary aluminium and zinc finish roof. The Covid pandemic necessitated a site closure, and associated programme amendments. Contracts Manager Paul Devine embraced technology, swiftly moving to “virtual” project meetings. With the cooperation of School Principal, Mrs Claire Robinson and client project management team Hood McGowan Kirk LLP, the project phasing was amended and the works of the nursery building commenced earlier than scheduled to recoup time lost during lockdown.
The project includes innovative installations such as an acoustic folding partition that maximises the use of the school hall and a curved standing seam aluminium roof to part of the main building and the entire nursery building. A focal point of the main school building is the zinc cladding, which surrounds feature windows. A beautiful design feature is the internal courtyard, which brings a sense of calm and serenity to the school building.
Commenting on the completed project, Site Manager Ciaran Bothwell said, “The pupils have enjoyed watching the build process, designing site hoarding, our ‘Bob the Builder’ safety talks and the ice-cream van! They are now enjoying their new facilities and surroundings.”
Woodvale Construction,
Head Office: 59 Crevenagh Road, Omagh, BT79 0
T. +44 (0)28 8224 2622 – T. 0845 075 5845 (Out of Hours)
E. info@woodvaleconstruction.co.uk
www.woodvaleconstruction.co.uk
