The third phase of a £1.2 million project to provide Prospect Hill School with a new school wing is currently underway.
The Prospect House School Expansion project comprises the redevelopment of an existing building – a former mental health hospital – plus the erection of a new extension in order to create new facilities for Prospect Hill School. Located at 76 Putney Hill, the three-storey building is being refurbished from the ground floor up and is divided into three phases.
Construction specialists Campus Construction is the main contractor on the project, whilst Oliver West & John Scott Architects is providing all architectural services.
Work began on Phase One of the project in May 2012 and reached completion in August 2012. The first phase comprised refurbishment of the ground and first floors of the existing building, including associated services in order to make these floors operational with five classrooms in time for the start of the new school year in September.
Phase Two began in September and ran through to November 2012. Phase Two concentrated on refurbishing the second floor of the building, providing staffroom facilities and a further classroom.
With the second phase complete, Phase Three – the final phase – got underway in December 2012 and comprises the construction of an extension to the site, in order to house a new hall, kitchen and associated areas, as well as the creation of two further classrooms in a two-storey annex building.
The extension is a single storey link building being constructed from traditional brick and block, with load bearing walls and steel beams. A draft-proofing system and low energy lighting has also been incorporated into the building.
In addition, some external work is being undertaken on the site. Landscaping to the front and rear has already been completed, with artificial all-weather grass surfaces and play equipment and a number of ramps will be constructed or renewed.
During the development of Phase Three the school remains fully operational, so measures have been put in place to segregate the works and reduce noise and disruption around the site.
Discussing the project, Campus Construction’s Managing Director, Jon Beck, said:
“The site was purchased by the House Schools Group – an umbrella organisation for three well known schools in West London – and was previously owned by Wandsworth Borough Council. It is located close to a similar site just down the road and forms a new wing for the school.
“The intention is to combine this building with the existing building to increase what the school has to offer. The building will be used to cater for young pupils from the ages of four and up.
“We are currently working on Phase Three of the project and this will reach completion in June 2013 as planned. At present we are involved in the ground works, including piling for the foundations. We have made careful provisions to ensure that we do not cause any disruption to pupils and we are liaising with the headmistress so that noisy operations take place outside of the school’s daily opening hours or during school holidays. Before we started on site we encountered and removed some asbestos, which slowed down progress on Phase One, but so far we have not encountered any other challenges of any significance and the overall project continues to make good and timely progress.”
Jon added:
“House Schools Group is one of our most important school clients and we have been working with them for over ten years. Schools always pose a particular challenge, both for the client and the contractor and, as we have grown, we have always been able to resolve any major problems together, in an efficient and cost-effective manner. We have continued to work with the Group as its main contractor and we very much value our involvement with them on this substantial project.”
To find out more, please visit www.prospecths.org.uk.
