Pupils at Dame Allan’s Schools in Newcastle have carried out a ‘topping out’ ceremony with a ‘twist’.
Georgia Downs, Sophia Long and Joshua Yip from Year 4 switched on the lights on a six metres tall Christmas tree to celebrate the completion of the roof and glazing walls at Dame Allan’s new school at Hunter’s Moor in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Construction of the new school is being carried out by Esh Build, part of Esh Group, one of the largest independent construction companies in the North.
The tree was erected in celebration of meeting the construction landmark ahead of schedule and as a twist on the ages-old tradition of ‘topping out’.
Principal of Dame Allan’s Schools, Dr John Hind, explained:
“We are excited to reach this stage in the construction of our new building. The roof is completed, the majority of the glass has been fitted and the building is weatherproof. This means we are well on track in our plan to be ready in good time to move in before the pupils join us at the start of the new academic year in September 2012.
“This was a wonderful way to celebrate a significant landmark for the new school. The children thoroughly enjoyed their duties and learned about ‘topping out’ ceremonies. We understand that the roots of this ceremony go back many hundreds of years to Scandinavia when villagers believed ‘raising’ a live pine tree near a building under construction acted as a talisman to bring good luck and to ward off evil spirits.”
Steve Wilkie, Divisional Director of Esh Construction, said:
“We’re making excellent progress with the construction of Dame Allan’s new nursery and junior school. Becoming watertight is always an important step in the construction of a new building – and it was a great way that Dame Allan’s chose to mark the occasion.”
The new school will open in September 2012 and is being built on a six-acre site at Hunter’s Moor, close to the existing main school in Fenham.
Designed by Ian Belsham Associates, the new building is being constructed using recycled materials wherever possible and everything can be recycled or reused when the building reaches the end of its life.
Natural ventilation systems and solar shading devices together with ground source heat pumps for heating, solar panels for hot water and rainwater harvesting for flushing toilets are integrated.
Following the demolition of the existing building, as much material as possible was crushed and used in the foundations of the new school.
The heating system has been designed to have a minimal carbon footprint. The building will be heated by ground source heat pumps which extract the heat from below the ground, while the water will be heated from energy collected in solar panels on the roof. A gas boiler will supplement these energy sources if necessary, to ensure the pupils are always comfortable.
An intelligent building management system will monitor the temperature and carbon dioxide levels in each room, adjusting the temperature and ventilation in individual rooms as required.
Dame Allan’s is reusing particular parts of the old building in the grounds around the school as features; the decorative arched low garden wall will be built into new garden areas for example.
