A clever classrooms led approach brings benefits in commissioning and management of new school buildings

In her previous feature Caroline Compton-James, Public Sector Director of Osborne Construction shared her thoughts on how clever classrooms can create optimum learning environments for students.  In that feature, Caroline outlined the five areas where using intelligent classroom design have been shown to have the most impact.

In this supplementary feature Caroline discusses how InForm offsite solution offers profound benefits for those involved with the commission and management of new school buildings.

The advantages of offsite is well-documented and include shorter build times, the need for less labour, safer build sites, reduction in waste and so forth. In basic terms, offsite construction can make buildings cheaper to maintain and more practical to manage. The first major advantage of building with offsite is the high quality of buildings and infrastructure. Once the building is handed over, there are far fewer minor faults that need correcting. The structural integrity of offsite methods eliminate settlement after completion, reducing the time required for what is known as post-construction snagging. This in turn means that buildings can be utilised more quickly, and more cheaply, than with traditional construction methods.

The Osborne offsite InForm SIP’s components are joined together with an insulated spline providing a continuous polyurethane core through the walls and roof of the building. This greatly improves the thermal efficiency of the building compared to timber frame studs and cavity insulation. This will significantly contribute to lower energy costs never more important than now at a time of unprecedented inflation on energy costs and the need to address the climate crisis,.

The airtightness of an InForm building envelope prevents air from getting into the interior of the building, except in precisely controlled amounts, meaning the interior will be both healthy and comfortable.

Humidity can be controlled more easily in an InForm built building, resulting in an environment that is more comfortable for students and less prone to problems such as mould growth and dust mites.

The high-performance InForm building envelope will also allow heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment to be downsized, and ductwork minimised. This cuts down on maintenance, and therefore running costs.

The testing and commissioning of many M&E assemblies, modules and parts can take place in clean and protected manufacturing facilities rather than on site, making them more efficient, less prone to defects and therefore cheaper to run and maintain.

For more information on how the InForm School Solution can create clever classrooms with added benefits for long term operation and maintenance, please visit our website or contact Caroline Compton-James [email protected]