Background

King Edward VI Grammar School has been a valued client since 2015. This recent project saw us construct a purpose-built sports hall that provides a wide range of facilities over two floors. The facility was erected towards the rear of the school’s sports, adjacent to its tennis courts alongside the main school buildings in Broomfield Road, Chelmsford. The design team comprised John Finch Partnership as architects, Davies Burton Sweetlove as engineers and quantity surveyors Burr & Neve.

State-of-the-art facilities

The sports hall has a reception area at the main entrance, along with staff and medical facilities. This leads to four changing rooms, disabled facilities and storerooms. The ground floor contains a 250 square metre gym studio and a separate hall, which is large enough to accommodate five badminton courts. The multi-functional facility also provides a two-storey flexible space, also featuring basketball courts and cricket nets.

Construction

The steel frame building with lattice trusses was clad in masonry, with contrasting detailing and a curved insulated metal roof. It also included a precast concrete first floor and stairs.

The construction project spanned a number of student examination periods which meant strict control of building operations was needed to minimise disruption. Close liaison on a weekly and daily basis enabled this prestigious project to be completed within the timescale and budget that was established with the client’s design team.