Inverclyde Schools, New Renfrewshire Buildings, Scotland, Images, Architect, E4i Project News

Inverclyde Schools : Buildings

Firth of Clyde Education Development, Renfrewshire property design by SMC Parr Architects

21 Mar 2008

Images released Mar 2008 of proposed buildings by successful Consortium e4i

Design: SMC Parr Architects

SMC Parr Expand Expertise In Education And Sustainability – Inverclyde Schools PPP

Inverclyde Schools

SMC Parr Architects have been named as Preferred Bidder for the £80m Inverclyde Schools PPP project as part of the successful e4i Consortium. The project consists of four new school buildings – two secondaries and two primaries, some of which incorporate special needs facilities – on a variety of interesting and challenging sites in Greenock.

Notre Dame High School Greenock building:

image courtesy of architects practice

The new secondary school proposed for Notre Dame in Dunlop Street features a three storey colonnaded frontage designed to provide an elegant civic presence to its main elevation, whilst its library forms an appropriate visual focus to the school at the heart of its plan.

Meanwhile, the new Bayhill secondary school proposed for a prominent site at the top of the town features a series of wings radiating from a central two storey social space, providing both an airy focus for the building, and a form which captures the beautiful views to the north from the spaces within.
In addition, the Council’s highly sustainable brief has resulted in four low energy, low carbon, high thermal mass designs which aim to be amongst the most sustainable school designs built in Britain to date. Text from SMC Parr 250308

Gourock High School and Greenock Academy buildings:

images courtesy of architecture practice

The preferred bidder for Inverclyde Council’s multi-million pound schools PPP contract has been announced.
Consortium e4i (Education for Inverclyde) was confirmed as preferred bidder for the £80 million project at this afternoon’s Full Council meeting.

This follows a year-long competitive dialogue with three consortia, and now the school designs will be fully developed before financial close is reached in August. The preferred bidder announcement is subject to the agreement of final formalities.

Stephen McCabe, Council Leader and Education Convener, said: “This Council is committed to investing in schools and ensuring we have an effective education service that benefits Inverclyde. Our children deserve to be educated in modern, state-of-the-art buildings that are fit for the 21st century and our major PPP programme will make this a reality.

Greenock East School building design:

images courtesy of architecture office

“I am delighted that we are moving forward with e4i having been announced as the preferred bidder and I look forward to further progression on this significant, multi-million pound investment programme for Inverclyde.”

James Hamilton, e4i Bid Manager said: “Working in partnership with Inverclyde Council, the e4i consortium has developed exciting proposals that will create an impressive educational legacy. We are delighted to have been selected as preferred bidder on this project and are now looking forward to attaining financial close and delivering first class facilities for the local communities.”

Larkfield School Greenock building design:

images courtesy of architects office

The PPP project will provide two new secondary schools and two new primary schools. Work will commence later this year on the primary schools, with completion anticipated in early 2010. Work will start on the secondary schools in late 2009 with completion in summer 2011.

This exciting project will see Gourock High School and Greenock Academy merged into a new 950-capacity building on the current site of St Columba’s High School in Gourock.

Earnhill and Ravenscraig Primaries in Greenock will merge into a new, 429-capacity school in Larkfield, Greenock and this will incorporate nursery accommodation to replace Aileymill Nursery.

St Laurence’s and St Kenneth’s Primaries in Greenock will also merge into a new 495- capacity building on St Kenneth’s existing site and this will incorporate nursery accommodation to replace Blairmore Nursery.

The scheme will also deliver an 850-capacity replacement building for Notre Dame High School, Greenock on the existing Notre Dame site, with a language and communication base incorporated.

E4i will submit planning applications for each school in due course; plans and drawings will be available for public viewing at that time.

e4i is a consortium of Miller, Cyril Sweett, Land Securities Trillium and FES. The other consortia involved in the competitive dialogue process were Hochtief and Inverclyde Community Partnership (ICP).

Inverclyde Schools

Inverclyde Council is progressing its biggest ever project – the Prudential Schools Project. The £29m Inverclyde Academy (to replace Wellington Academy and Greenock High) started on site in Greenock in February 2007 with construction due to end in September 2008.

Construction on the £9.6m Newark Primary in Port Glasgow (to replace Slaemuir, Clune Park and Highholm Primaries) started in February and is scheduled to be complete in late April 2008.