Notre Dame RC School
Faithorn Farrell Timms was commissioned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark to provide additional teaching accommodation, as the space requirements dictated by the Department for Education and Skills could not be met by the building in its existing form.
The project was particularly challenging, insofar as the building had originally been constructed as a Victorian convent on a confined site. This meant that a traditional extension was impossible.
We had carried out a detailed survey of the building and identified the unused pitched roof space area as being available for conversion. Consultations were held with structural engineers, the Local Authority and the Fire Department, and a design progressed to a stage whereby all parties were satisfied as to the additional structural loading and means of escape in the event of fire.
A new staircase was provided and, within one of the existing classrooms, a new steel frame was put in place to support the new accommodation above.
The majority of works were carried out with the school in occupation, which required very close liaison between all parties over the decanting of classrooms, delivery of goods and emergency procedures.
The project was completed on schedule using a JCT MW 98 Form of Contract and within the allocated budget of £120,000.