Holmfirth High School

Dalkia complete science laboratory and food technology room strip out and refurbishment fit for a 21st century learning environment.

Dalkia secured two design and build contracts for Holmfirth High School, a co-education secondary school in West Yorkshire, to refurbish a science laboratory and food technology room.

Having been engaged by the client to manage the refurbishment and transformation of a standard science classroom into a science laboratory, Dalkia undertook initial investigation works for the existing supplies of water, drainage, gas and ventilation. This was necessary to ensure the existing supplies would be able to accommodate the demand of the additional student capacity and new appliance installation whilst mitigating disruption to teaching.

The room’s modern, sleek lines set the tone for a contemporary design to maximise the layout and teaching capacity. This included a colour palette in line with the school’s “new look” creating a learning environment fit for the 21st century.

With a tight 6-week period to complete the works in a difficult climate, Dalkia rose to the challenge, stripping out and replacing existing classroom fixtures and fittings with bespoke science laboratory cupboards and workspaces, flooring and blinds, as well as installing new water, drainage, gas and electrical supplies for work zones and new lighting.

This high-quality delivery provided the school with the confidence to engage us to refurbish their food technology room.

Dalkia was asked to manage the works on-site to ensure the process ran smoothly during pre-construction and construction stages while also assuming responsibility for future facilities management.

Prior to the project commencement, a preliminary inspection of the water, drainage, electricity and ventilation was required to ensure these services were sufficient for the student capacity and new cooking appliances requested by the school to fulfil the school curriculum.

Optimising the space to allow for multi-use was accomplished through a design that incorporated islands for practical classes as well as being used for theory stations facing the teaching wall instead of employing the external perimeter.

Again, the colour palette reflected and complimented the school’s modern décor and appearance, providing a state-of-the-art learning space for today and tomorrow’s students.

Similar to works carried out for the science laboratory, except for the installation of islands and tailormade food tech benches and teaching wall, Dalkia delivered the scheme safely and to programme, a testament to their expertise and specialist engineering capability.