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A Sustainable Approach

Herbert Strutt School, Derbyshire

Contractor

Mansell Construction

Architect

Derbyshire County Council

Product

Anchor® Diamond® walling, Canelletto

Contractor

Mansell Construction

Architect

Derbyshire County Council

Product

Anchor® Diamond® walling, Canelletto

The Challange

The new 1,360m² school for 200 pupils aged 4-11 is set within a sloping site with extensive landscaping to accommodate play areas, trees and an ecological resource area for the pupils.

Designed to fit into and complement the surrounding landscape, Derbyshire County Council conceived and designed the school with reference to the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM), and required all the solutions involved in the project to have good environment credentials.

The Solution

The Anchor Diamond® segmental concrete earth-retaining structure forms a 100m long curved wall which goes up to 2.8m high, and creates an enclosed play and recreation area for the pupils at the new school in Belper.

At the Herbert Strutt School site the backfill was primarily site-won, having been reclaimed from the demolished buildings that previously occupied the site. The use of reclaimed materials in the wall construction fitted perfectly with the environmental and sustainable approach of Derbyshire County Council.

The use of recycled materials in the backfill also made the solution very economical and cost effective.

Anchor Diamond® is a segmental concrete retaining wall system that works with geogrids to form a robust and highly efficient reinforced earth structure of immense strength. The blocks are dry laid onto prepared granular footings – no concrete or mortar is required. The geogrids are sandwiched between the block courses and laid out behind the wall face in combination with layers of compacted backfill.

Derbyshire County Council required a large retaining wall with sweeping internal and external curves of varying heights. The unique trapezoidal shape of an Anchor Diamond® block and the easy-build dry laid construction meant that these curves were easily created, quickly constructed and a provided a highly aesthetically pleasing and durable finish.

Herbert Strutt School, Derbyshire featured image
Herbert Strutt School, Derbyshire featured image
Herbert Strutt School, Derbyshire featured image

Products used in this design