Farley Hill Primary School

Design ID were appointed as Civil and Substructure Structural Engineer for the construction of a new Primary School within Wokingham. The project involved the construction of a new school building, pavilion building, car parking of 60 spaces, access roads, public realm and playground areas, 3G sports pitch and Sustainable Drainage Systems. The School will provide outstanding new learning facilities for the local community including Early Years (Nursery) provision and has been developed to accommodate 3 Form Entry (3FE) capacity. Design ID completed the following Civil and Structural Engineering design services for the project; building foundation design, site earthworks strategy, proposed site levels, car parking and access road build-ups, foul water and surface water drainage, utility coordination and consultation with Statutory Authorities. Key constraints on site included the presence of existing trees which were retained, investigation works to determine suitable drainage connection locations and high groundwater levels. A fundamental component of the external public realm design was the incorporation of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) for surface water design management which utilised a detention basin, permeable paving, filter drains, below ground attenuation structures and flow control structures. In addition to providing water quality and biodiversity benefits it is intended that above ground SuDS components will provide amenity benefits to the local community and allow school pupils to learn about the water cycle. The project was completed to BIM Level 2 which allowed the coordination of all designs within Navisworks and clash detection to be undertaken on a weekly basis. The use of Revit/Civil 3D/Navisworks ensured the design was as efficient as possible to assist with project cost and programme. Additionally, the models ensured limited on-site wastage and assisted the Contractor with detailed understanding of requirements at an early design stage. Design ID communicated with the Contractor throughout the design process to eliminate risks wherever possible in advance of Construction and residual risks were highlighted where required.