Precast Case Study: Beaulieu Park Schools

We were selected to manufacture and install the Precast Stairs and Hollowcore flooring at the new Beaulieu Park School in Essex, which consists of four buildings constructed on a 12 Hectar complex. The school is Essex’s first ‘All Through’ School featuring nursery, primary and secondary schools all on the one site and has been designed to meet the growing demand for school places in this sought-after area of Chelmsford.

Kier Group, the project’s Contractor, engaged our full service offering for the project, so design, manufacture, delivery and installation of the precast concrete were all completed by the precast team. This included 8,500m2 of hollowcore flooring, and six precast stair cores comprising of 31 individual stair flights and various shaped landings.

The precast team worked closely with the Project Managers at an early stage to develop the installation programme and with the Kier design team, using BIM modelling software to detail and manufacture the stairs and flooring. The design teams also worked in close co-ordination with the steel frame designers to ensure features such as the progressive collapse tie-in details all matched up.

The collaborative design work was essential to the success of the project, particularly with large areas of the ceiling featuring exposed soffits which required precision in the design and manufacture of the precast planks.

With the precast installation phase taking place during harsh winter conditions, there was potential for delays, but the team ensured all precast elements were delivered and installed in line with the project schedule, ensuring no delays to the programme. The ability to install the precast concrete during days when the wind chill factor was well below freezing and concrete pours could not take place helped keep the building process on schedule.

Our precast installation team worked safely and efficiently to install the four stair cores and 8,500m2 of Hollowcore onto the three storey steel frame floors and roof areas. The safe working practices adopted by the team on site were recognised by Kier, who selected our precast team for their award for the safest contractor on site.

Speaking of the precast team’s work on the project, the company’s General Manager, Richard Maguire commented,

“For this project, it was important for the Contractor to work with a supplier who could offer them a full service from design through to installation, and one who were BIM enabled. Our teams were heavily involved from early in the project, and needed to work well with other design teams. The significant collaborative effort throughout the project paid dividends and we had the right precast concrete elements all manufactured correctly, delivered and installed on schedule.

We’re delighted that the safe on-site working practices of our teams were recognised by the Contractor, with the team from precast awarded Safest Contractor on this project. We’re committed to ensuring safety on site is of the highest standards, and this is of paramount importance in every job we do.”