Cults and Bucksburn Academies, part of 3R’s Aberdeen City Schools PPP, embody Scandinavian design with the very high standards of sustainability and has achieved BREEAM 'Very Good' ratings. The schools for 1,150 and 650 pupils respectively are built on a grid system and constructed from environmentally friendly building materials with precast floors. These are supported on prefabricated load bearing concrete sandwich wall panels and a spine of DELTABEAM® Composite Beams. The building forms are therefore simple and rectilinear. Stability is provided by pre-cast wall panels forming the stair and lift cores. Contractor Pihl UK Ltd has used its Scandinavian expertise in introducing a number of tested and certified Scandinavian off-site manufactured building components for the new schools which from the outset, the focus has been on natural lighting, ventilation and the creation of an interior climate, which are important to children and young peoples’ ability to learn.
The exterior pre-cast sandwich panels are complimented with timber cladding and render panels to contrast the smooth concrete and large area of glazing. Simplicity and distinctive character are achieved by using these three quite dissimilar materials exclusively to the main facades.
The composite nature of DELTABEAM® allows for economy of materials and sustainability whilst the flat soffit enables designers to future proof learning spaces and to provide truly flexible spaces. DELTABEAM® Composite Beams provide all the build benefits from both traditional types of frame construction – a steel frame is quick to install and cost effective, whereas, a concrete frame is solid, has inherent fire protection and a good resistance to the transmission of sound.
Despite typical Scottish winter weather, 14 weeks later, 3 storeys comprising 19,000 m2 of frame had been erected. The works for both academies were successfully completed on time.
