May 1 2008
Corus Kalzip has won a £500,000 contract to supply 4,925 sq. metres of Hi-Point – Corus’ innovative off-site roofing system – to provide new, state-of-the-art campus buildings for students attending Mid-Kent College in Medway, Gillingham.
Hi-Point – Corus’ innovative off-site roofing system
As of September 2009, the £53 million development will provide a modern learning environment capable of accommodating almost 30 per cent more students than current facilities in Chatham and Rochester, proving particularly beneficial in high demand subject areas. Bringing education into the 21st century, cutting edge technology also plays an important role in the delivery and construction of the completed buildings as much as the teaching curriculum itself.
Specified by Kier Build, Hi-Point will provide the roof for three ‘finger’ buildings within which educational learning will take place. These are linked by two transparent lower level atriums that will act as the social centres for the college, housing the reception and refreshment area plus the principle performance space which will have a capacity of hosting 300 guests. The atriums will be roofed using a traditional Kalzip system and Nature Roof.
Christian Lawrence, from Architects Nightingale Associates, comments: “Like any education facility, Mid-Kent College required a durable and low maintenance roofing system coupled with a high quality finish. The added extra we gain from using Hi-Point is that the off-site nature of the system means we can reduce the number of activities taking place on-site and essentially speed up the whole build programme.”
Components for a total of 65 Hi-Point modules will be manufactured under factory controlled conditions at Kalzip’s Haydock facility in Merseyside. After being delivered to site the lightweight sections will be assembled at ground level before being craned into position. Where space is limited, Hi-Point can be pre-assembled at the factory premises and lifted straight off the back of the delivery vehicle.
Chris Burden, Project Manager at Kier Build, comments: “Projects in the education sector are always subject to tight build programmes to coincide with the academic year. Working with the off-site system, Hi-Point, means I can be confident that the roof modules will be delivered to site in sync with the rest of the build schedule, arrive finished to a consistently high quality, and installed efficiently and safely by a team of specially trained contractors. All this can be achieved while still remaining cost effective.”
Simon Gregory, Hi-Point Project Manager at Kalzip, added: “Kalzip’s approved roofing contractor, WWR, have a 5 week construction programme to build the frame and install the roof on each building. They also have secondary work on site to install the traditional Kalzip and Nature Roof to the pavilion and link roof areas.”
The Hi-Point system is ideal for repeat designs across the military, education, health, residential and commercial building sectors and can accommodate mono-pitch, duo-pitch and barrel-vault roofs with virtually any finish.