Austen Academy
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Location: Basingstoke
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Sector: Education
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Service: Regional Building
Austen Academy specialises in providing places for learners with social communication needs associated with a diagnosis of autism. The Academy is a 125 place all-through special needs school with car park as well as play areas and sports facilities built to meet the future demand for places for pupils with special educational needs.
The existing school building was demolished and replaced with a specially designed two storey steel framed building to meet the needs of the pupils, incorporating SEN (special education needs) appropriate external spaces including a MUGA (multi use games area) pitch and various play areas.
The school building, (3027m²), is comprised of 22 classrooms, seven of which accommodate primary aged children (age 4 to 11) on the ground floor with 10 accommodating secondary aged (11 to 16 years) children on the first floor. There are five additional specialist classrooms.
At a glance...
£8.5m
Project value
Autumn 2021
Completion date
Hampshire County Council
Client
Challenges and solutions
The project was programmed for 66 weeks. The site team had a very good understanding of the programme and the critical path activities, which resulted in the project being delivered in 61 weeks. Good communication with the client allowed the building to be finished and handed over early.
As a direct result of the successful delivery of this scheme, Hampshire County Council direct awarded Tilbury Douglas a new 90 place SEN School in Farnborough, called Samuel Cody.
Added value
- Biodiversity increased on site: 22 new trees were planted along with native hedging, extensive shrub planting and honeysuckle against the boundary to supplement the dormouse habitat
- Local supply chain: 84% of subcontractor orders were placed within 50 miles of site totalling £5.2m
- Re-used material: 5,400 tonnes of excavated material remained on site saving 14,000km of travelling and the resultant carbon
Our partners
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Structural Engineer: Calcinotto
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Architect: Novium Architects