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New passive secondary school in Sutton gets green light
A major new £36m secondary school in Sutton, designed by passive architecture specialists Architype, has successfully received planning permission.
This article was originally published in issue 24 of Passive House Plus magazine. Want immediate access to all back issues and exclusive extra content? Click here to subscribe for as little as €10, or click here to receive the next issue free of charge
The school is part of the wider masterplan for the intended London Cancer Hub (LCH), a new life science innovation cluster focused on cancer research and treatment, situated on the former Sutton Hospital site.
The brief for the school, developed by the London Borough of Sutton and the Harris Federation, seizes the opportunity to integrate secondary school pupils into the campus’s wider remit of scientific research and treatment. The building will be of cross-laminated timber with a concrete frame.
In keeping with the overall masterplan, the design of the new school aims to inspire pupils to pursue a career within life sciences, supported by the expertise, innovation and influence of the surrounding research facilities.
Continuing the Borough’s reputation for high-quality development, a key integration has been environmental sustainability, with an ambition to achieve both passive house and Breeam Excellent certification.
The central spine of the four-storey school is interposed by alternating wings to balance the mass of the 10,600 sqm school, which will accommodate up to 1,275 pupils and 95 staff.
Willmott Dixon have been named as the successful contractor for the project and the project team are now developing the detailed design. The project starts on site at the end of the year, with completion due in 2019.
Architype director, Ben Humphries said: "We have worked hard to maintain a rigorous ecological approach while navigating the complex site constraints and we are delighted to have received planning permission for this groundbreaking project. We look forward to working with London Borough of Sutton, Harris Federation and Willmott Dixon to deliver an exemplary school environment and the first entire passive house secondary school in the UK."
