GEZE UK has given Tyneside students a brand new outlook on life – by supplying more than 100 windows systems for a new state-of-the-art science and technology centre.
The STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths – building is part of a £14.5 million redevelopment of the Thorp Academy, in Ryton.
The standalone development – one of five buildings on the campus, houses 11 science labs, 11 maths and two ICT rooms as well as two seminar rooms and a dining room to cater for the whole school. There are also new engineering and technology rooms, a construction area where building and related trades are taught, two food technology rooms and a textile room.
With such a practical learning environment, it was vital that the building benefited from optimum natural light and ventilation. This is why GEZE’s OL Line openers and operators were specified – to maximise functionality with a window arrangement that incorporates key safety features for use in schools.
OL Line systems with winding openers were fitted to all of the top opening sections of all windows throughout the three-storey building. These were positioned over a fixed middle section and a bottom opener with manual handles.
Kaz Spiewakowski, managing director of GEZE UK, said that he was proud that GEZE products were used within a development which provided such excellent facilities for young people.
“Buildings such as these provide a light, bright and well-equipped environment in which to learn. In designing modern educational requirements, it is imperative that the functionality and safety of window systems are a high priority and the OL Line provides the versatility needed in just this situation.”
The STEM building was the first school development in a batch of seven schools in the North East to be completed by Sir Robert McAlpine. The construction company won the contract which was funded by the Government’s Priority Schools Building Programme. The windows within all the schools share the same design DNA and have the same configuration.
The STEM building has an engineering suite which has been equipped with more than £30,000 worth of CNC milling machinery provided by a local charity trust, The Reece Foundation, that promotes local engineering and manufacturing in the region.
Thorp Academy is part of the Northern Education Trust which is a not-for-profit charity, approved by the Department for Education to establish and maintain primary and secondary academies. It founded Thorp in September 2014, providing secondary and sixth form education for more than 1170 students, and it has gone from strength-to-strength, with strong A-level performances and a higher than national average of students achieving top grades.
John Taylor, project director of new buildings, for the Northern Education Trust, said: “We are really pleased with the quality of the new STEM building at Thorp Academy which meets our specification for a high quality working environment for students and staff. Putting Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths in one building promotes collaboration between those subjects, and our links with the Reece Foundation is a welcome addition to the facilities we can now offer local students.”
