Oakgrove Integrated College, Derry / Londonderry

A new school on an environmentally sensitive green-field site in Derry. The school comprises two blocks linked by a glazed walkway and a large entrance foyer area. One block is curved in plan, whilst the other is straight. The buildings are mainly two-storey, on a  steel frame with pre-cast floor construction on traditional pad and strip foundations.

Multi-purpose sports hall incorporating clerestorey windows for maximum natural light. The steel-framed building supports exposed tubular steel roof trusses. The hall can be sub-divided by hanging curtains for maximum flexibility.

We worked closely with the architect to produce an aesthetically pleasing solution for the highly glazed elevation and for the exposed steelwork trusses in the sports hall. The floor design allowed the layout of classrooms and facilities to be finalised at an advanced stage in the design program, giving flexibility to the schools requirements but allowing the contractor to progress with construction. The program had to be adhered to rigidly to allow the school to be ready to accept the pupils at the beginning of the school year.

Works included bringing drainage across a railway line, minimising costs for the cut and fill works required on a sloping site and the inclusion of new access arrangements to minimise school/private traffic interfaces. The design also included significant sports facilities incorporating Gaelic football, soccer, hockey and rugby pitches, as well as tennis courts and a cricket square. The storm drainage system incorporated a SUDS system allowing roof drainage to be collected separately and channelled through a ‘grey water’ storage tank for recycling to the schools toilets.

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