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 | | JOHN BRASH SHINGLES MEET NEW SCHOOL CONSERVATION REQUIREMENTS | | | John Brash | | 11/10/2006 | | |
The new St. Mary's CE Primary School at Lamberhurst in Kent, which opened this July, has been built to replace an outdated Victorian school. It is located on a 1.6 acre greenfield site, near the fringes of the town and is in a strict conservation area. Being an historic Kentish village the roofscape is predominantly clay peg tiles and the planners insisted that the roof could not be covered with either slate or concrete tiles.
The solution - an unusual one for a school roof - was the use of cedar shingles. More specifically, extremely durable western red cedar fire retardant shingles from John Brash. They are quick and easy to install, have exceptional strength in proportion to weight (only one tenth the weight of traditional building materials), a low ratio of expansion and contraction and are high impermeable to liquids.
Environmentally too, wood is by far the most environmentally friendly construction material. Not only is it a sustainable resource, but buildings using timber benefit from wood's superior insulating properties and are much more efficient than concrete or steel. This translates into long-term energy savings and a reduced load on our environment. With shingles, a further benefit is that in production, John Brash use parts of the log that are not suitable for sawn timber and would therefore normally be scrapped.
St Mary's School roof is curved in design and required 1150m2 of shingles. The reason for the curve is that the site slopes very steeply and in design terms it was necessary to follow one of the contours across the site from east to west. This enables the classrooms and playground to be located on the south of the building, while on the north side - the elevation that faces the village- the roof is split into a number of elements which has the effect of looking like a series of roofs, rather than one large roof area. This, combined with the use of cedar shingles, fits in naturally and aesthetically with the historic skyline of Lamberhurst.
Matt Hayes, a partner at Lee Evans Partnership, the Canterbury-based architects involved in the £2m scheme takes up the story: 'We chose western red cedar fire retardant shingles from John Brash for the roof, as they offer a perfect visual contrast to the peg tiles, yet are still inherently vernacular. Brash were able to supply the shingles at the right price and with good technical support and with an assured delivery. The fire rating also satisfied the local authority building control department, as there are domestic properties close by'.
Head Teacher at the school, Liz Hatcher, is delighted with the work: 'John Brash has done a lovely job and the roof really fits in well with the surroundings and gives a solid traditional feel to the new school right from the beginning'.
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Flat , Pitched , Commercial , Residential , Green , Tiles , Metal , Fascias & Soffits , Offsite Systems , Engineered , Natural , MDF , Internal , External , Education
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