Contact
Hackwood Primary Academy close up hero imagejpg

Hackwood Primary
Academy

The population of Derby’s suburbs is increasing and as such, the need to provide more infrastructure, housing and school places has been one of Derby City Council’s top priorities in recent years.

With the creation of a large, new housing development comprising of 700 homes in Mickleover, the council approached Lungfish and Morgan Sindall to help deliver a brand-new primary school to support the growing community.

Sector

Education

Services

Architecture

Status

Completed August 2019

Client

Derby City Council with Redrow & Miller Homes

Location

Derby

Share article

Hackwood Primary Academy - School Hall view - opening ceremony
Hackwood Primary Academy - External view across MUGA and playing field
Hackwood Primary Academy classroom corridor
Hackwood Primary Academy - Classroom view
Hackwood Primary Academy - Main Hall and Entrance view
Hackwood Primary Academy building close up
Hackwood Primary Academy building
Hackwood Primary Academy exterior building v2
Hackwood Primary Academy exterior building
Hackwood Primary Academy exterior playground
Hackwood Primary Academy sportshall
Hackwood Primary Academy - Concept to Completion CGI image
Hackwood Primary Academy CGI v2
Hackwood Primary Academy - School Hall view - opening ceremony
Hackwood Primary Academy - External view across MUGA and playing field
Hackwood Primary Academy classroom corridor
Hackwood Primary Academy - Classroom view
Hackwood Primary Academy - Main Hall and Entrance view
Hackwood Primary Academy building close up
Hackwood Primary Academy building
Hackwood Primary Academy exterior building v2
Hackwood Primary Academy exterior building
Hackwood Primary Academy exterior playground
Hackwood Primary Academy sportshall
Hackwood Primary Academy - Concept to Completion CGI image
Hackwood Primary Academy CGI v2

About the project

The new Hackwood Farm estate, two miles West of Derby city centre, is being built by housing developers Redrow Homes and Miller Homes, with the £5million school being funded through Section 106 agreements.

With the new estate growing rapidly, the school needed to be open and fully operational by September 2019. This meant Derby City Council required a fast approach to construction. Utilising our expertise in modular design and offsite solutions, and the speed to market offered through the SCAPE framework, the project was live and onsite quickly.

Our approach

In order to meet the timescales to design and build the new school, we knew that the offsite, modular approach was the best way forward to meet the client’s needs.

The major benefit of modular design is that cost and programme assurance can be guaranteed from a very early stage. With the offsite approach, almost 90% of the build is constructed away from site, which helped to minimise the impact on the local community already experiencing a high level of construction traffic. The 14,000sq ft school is created out of 42 carefully manufactured modules.

When it came to the modules arriving onsite in order to be craned into place, the collaborative approach to the timings ensured minimal disruption to the local community. Whilst one module was being craned off a lorry onsite, the next was lined up in a bay down the road, with further modules leaving the factory at intermittent timings to ensure a continuous and efficient process.

The successful collaboration with Derby City Council, Morgan Sindall and SCAPE meant that we could ensure the school was delivered quickly and with minimal impact on the environment.

Hackwood Primary Academy drone footage December 2018

December 2018

Hackwood Primary Academy drone footage February 2019

February 2019

Hackwood Primary Academy drone footage April 2019

April 2019

Hackwood Primary Academy drone footage May 2019

May 2019

Hackwood Primary Academy drone footage completion

Completed project, August 2019

Hackwood Primary Academy drone footage completion angle 2

August 2019, completion

" The experience here has been excellent and that has been from initiation through to the project team on site. What I really liked is that you just got on and built it. The team were great, very professional and always found solutions. It was definitely good collaborative working. I was dubious about the modular solution, but the finish is as good as any school I’ve ever been to.

David Highfield of Derby City Council

A quick and efficient outcome

The modules arrived onsite at the end of February and went from foundation level to all modules being in place in just seven days, allowing the build to progress quickly and efficiently. Hackwood Primary Academy was handed over to The Harmony Trust in August 2019, opening it’s doors to the first cohort of pupils in September – just nine months after breaking ground.

The single storey one form-entry primary school features a large hall, six spacious classrooms and a 26-place nursery. Internally, the large classrooms will feature a modern and bright design throughout, creating positive and engaging learning environments. The building will provide an effective healthy indoor environment with natural day-lighting and ventilation along with thermal comfort and acoustics which have been designed to support educational attainment. The colour theme is continued externally, with cladding to reflect the school logo.

The school is also future proofed with an innovative, expandable layout that will allow additional teaching space to be added in the future, which could increase the total capacity up to 315.

Watch the construction process in 90 seconds

" By working collaboratively with Hackwood Primary Academy and Morgan Sindall Construction, and utilising our expertise in designing schools, we have been able to create innovative, engaging spaces that will enhance the learning experience for the pupils.

Simon Reid, Managing Director of Lungfish Architects

DESIGNING AND DELIVERING DERBY'S SCHOOLS

This project is featured in our collaborative report with SCAPE, 'Designing and Delivering Derby's Schools. The 5 year story of 6 schools delivered for Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council which has created more than 2,000 school places and generated in excess of £8m in social value.

Download here

Awards

Building awards 2020

Offsite Project of the Year

FINALIST

Building Awards 2020

SPACES Square logo

SPACES

SPACES Yearbook and Civic Building of the Year

Offsite awards 2020

Education Project of the Year

FINALIST

Offsite Awards 2020

Education Estates Awards 2020 - Project of the Year

Project of the Year Schools 2020

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Education Estates Awards 2020


CE Awards 2020 - Offsite shortlist

Offsite Award

FINALIST

CE East Midlands Awards 2020

RICS Social Impact Awards 2020 shortlisted

Education Project of the Year

SHORTLISTED

RICS Social Impact Awards 2020

GROUP BW FOOTER IMAGE

Bring your ideas to life

Say hello to our experienced team

Talk to us