Ridge and Partners LLP (Ridge), an award-winning, multidiscipline property and construction consultancy, has completed works on a major construction project at a West Sussex Academy after it was destroyed by fire in 2016.
Commissioned by The Kemnal Academies Trust (TKAT) on behalf of The Academy, Selsey, the project included architecture, project management, structural, civil and building services engineering, cost management and CDM Principle Designer, with work undertaken across Ridge offices in London, Oxford, Reading and Birmingham offices.
The 750-pupil Academy lost all but two blocks after the fire. As a consequence, students have been taught in temporary classrooms for the last two and a half years. The two blocks which could be salvaged were refurbished while the rest were demolished and re-built.
The new 59,000 sq. ft. Academy includes science laboratories, food technology facilities and an art room, as well as general teaching space, assembly halls and admin areas. It also has a large south-facing façade which is glazed to provide as much natural light as possible, whilst ensuring the areas remain pleasant to teach and learn in. Horizontal brise soleil were also introduced to protect the interior from solar gain and glare, as well as to unify the teaching and assembly blocks.
Soon after pupils moved back into The Academy, Selsey, the school celebrated a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted.
