Background
Glebe Farm School is a £29m 1530 place fossil-free new build all-through school in the parish of Wavendon in the Southeast of Milton Keynes, welcoming its first pupils from September 2022.
Anderson Acoustics were commissioned by Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure to provided acoustic consultancy to support RIBA Stage 3 through to completion of the project.
The Challenge
The site located off Burney Drive in the Glebe Farm masterplan site is subject to road traffic noise from both the A421 and M1, a rail line to the south plus from Heavy Goods Vehicles servicing nearby industrial and warehouse premises and from proposed new access roads serving the masterplan residential development. It was therefore critical to undertake an environmental noise survey to inform the acoustic design and assessment of the school and ensure the RIBA stage 3 design work to continue smoothly without disruption.
Open plan arrangements for early years were subject to an acoustic risk assessment and management plan. Large Double height spaces posed a challenge to achieve the BB93 and DfE Output Specification performance standards efficiently and within the cost budget.
The Result
Our pre-completion acoustic testing confirmed compliance with BB93 on the first visit, with no remedial works required, assuring that good quality listening spaces have been efficiently designed to providing a supportive listening environment for the pupils and teachers.
The finished interior can be viewed here. Sound absorbent treatments were optimised to minimise extent of acoustic wall panels, with the addition of bass backing pads to reduce the necessary extent of sound absorbent ceiling tile and ensure a cost effective, compliant solution.
Testimonial
“Glebe Farm School has already started on its journey shaping the future through its innovative and sustainable design and build. We are delighted that our doors are now open and we are excited and privileged to build the futures of all our young people, families, community and colleagues together.” Sarah Bennett, Chief Executive of IFtL
