A new building for one of Britain’s oldest schools, constructed off site by Portakabin subsidiary, Yorkon, has won the Building Schools for the Future Award at the Builder and Engineer Awards.

Designed by P+HS Architects, the Hubert Jones Science Centre at Christ College in Brecon provides facilities which are unrivalled in Wales, as part of a major commitment to help develop the next generation of young scientists.

The award recognised the project’s high quality design and how it applied education construction best practice to a scheme built off site.  The construction team successfully delivered an exceptional building that will inspire pupils to study science, and which is also highly sustainable and flexible.

The use of off-site construction ensured completion of the centre in just five months despite the challenging site, minimising any disturbance to staff and pupils. 16 steel-framed building modules were manufactured off site in York and craned into position during school holidays to further minimise any disruption to teaching.

Christ College was founded by Royal Charter in 1541 by King Henry VIII and has buildings on its campus, which date back to the 13^th Century.  Because of this and the building’s sensitive location in the Brecon Beacons National Park, the design incorporated local materials such as Welsh sandstone from Llangorse Quarry, together with render and timber cladding to complement the surrounding architecture.

The scheme also features a number of sustainable measures to minimise impact on the environment, such as solar water heating to reduce energy consumption, energy-efficient lighting, natural ventilation and daylight, and high levels of insulation to conserve energy.                                                                                                                    

The two-storey building expands the science facilities at this independent boarding and day school, bringing all the laboratories together under one roof and replacing an outdated 1950s block.

Two physics and two biology laboratories, a sixth form project room, and laboratory technician’s rooms are grouped around a double height central atrium that functions as an additional teaching area and exhibition space.  This central ‘street’ also allows pupils to move through the space at peak times and gather informally before and after lessons.

The building has been designed to be flexible and adaptable to change.  The internal walls are non load-bearing and there are clear internal spans of up to 12m, so the teaching spaces and laboratories can easily be reconfigured to meet the school’s changing requirements over time.