PLECKGATE HIGH SCHOOL, BLACKBURN

Project: Pleckgate High School
Completed: 2011
Type: Education
Main Contractor: Balfour Beatty
Architects: AEDAS, Manchester
Project Value: Â£1 Million to £2 Million
Glazed Area: 3,000m2
Products Used: Hybrid Curtain Walling, Windows, Doors, Rooflights

Dortech’s £1.2 million glazing contract for main contractors, Balfour Beatty was designed by Architects AEDAS and incorporated over 3,000m2 of bespoke curtain walling, windows, rooflights and doors, utilising a hybrid aluminium clad timber window system. Hybrid window systems have traditionally been imported from Scandanavian based suppliers, however Dortech successfully brought this product to the UK market whilst sourcing the raw materials from inside the UK and manufacturing from its base in Huddersfield.

The design pushed the glazing systems limits by incorporating concealed/non-visible automatic, window actuation devices which open automatically to increase natural ventilation if the school overheats. In addition, the rooflight system has been constructed to incorporate facets and a triangular shaped glass modual.

Pleckgate High School was the first School to be built out of a £450 million schools framework, which is being delivered by Balfour Beatty on Blackburn with Darwen and Bolton Councils Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

The overall project involves the delivery of a major capital investment programme over a number of phases comprising the extensive building, remodelling and operation of nine schools in Blackburn with Darwen by 2015 and the building, remodelling and operation of 15 schools, two special educational needs (SEN) schools and seven pupil referral units (PRU’s) in Bolton