Hatcham Temple Grove Free School

This project involves the development of a new build two form entry free school in Central London. The proposed site for the building is shared by an existing secondary school dating from the Victorian Era; therefore, extra consideration to the surrounding areas was given when developing the design.

Elementa Consulting provided full mechanical, electrical, and public health design and sustainability strategies for this project. Elementa Consulting was involved with the design of the building from the concept (after winning the project through competition) and worked closely with the whole design team allowing us to input into various aspects of the building, including form and building envelope.

The building has been designed as a fully modular building, including a modular plant room. Through this, the site waste is minimized, and on-site construction site time is reduced – which was a vital part of the initial brief as the school’s site is shared with another institution; therefore, dates could not be compromised.

The school is targetting BREEAM Very Good and using the energy hierarchy “Be Lean, Be Clean, Be Green,” which has meant using a fabric-first approach. Renewable technology such as photovoltaics has also been included on the roof for extra energy consumption.

The full design team also worked closely with the school’s technical advisors to ensure that the client’s brief was fully understood. Therefore, certain challenging aspects, such as the project’s financial constraints, were fully met.