The largest of the schools set up as part of the Government’s Academies Programme, the multi-award-winning Thomas Deacon Academy is a pioneering new learning environment that aims to reinvent the traditional school model.

The Peterborough school, which specialises in science and maths and has a student population of 2,200 11 to 18 year-olds and staff of 300, was designed by architect Foster + Partners and comprises two ‘streams’ of classrooms encircling a central concourse beneath a curved roof pitted with triangles of natural light. Sarnafil’s single ply system was selected by main contractor Laing O’Rourke to complete this dynamic design.

Laing O’Rourke then commissioned roofing contractor Fenland Flat Roofing (FFR) to install the multifaceted steel diagrid concourse roof’s membrane. “It was a complicated project,” recalls Andy Bacon, FFR’s managing director. “The roof was curved in plan, comprising three linked domed areas, and curved in elevation also. It was a three-dimensional shape that needed a versatile, three-dimensional covering.”

Sarnafil’s single ply system was chosen as the ideal membrane. The sweeping curves of the 7,000m sq roof, however, required two slightly different roof build-ups. Areas of concrete structural deck feature a bituminous felt vapour control layer insulated with Kingspan Thermaroof TR27 Polyisocyanurate bonded with Sarnacol 2162 PU adhesive and finished with an adhered Sarnafil membrane in G410-12EL Light Grey.

The profiled metal structural deck areas, meanwhile, consist of a Sarnavap 1000E Polyethylene vapour control layer, Sarnafil SBT tube fastener-attached Kingspan insulation and, finally, an adhered Sarnafil G410-12ELF Light Grey membrane.

Andy says that the versatility of Sarnafil single ply has been fully demonstrated on the roof’s undulations. “In the right hands, Sarnafil is a very versatile material. It required lots of cutting and shaping in order to get the Sarnafil covering to fit the curves, but it worked very well and the finished roof looks great.”

The roof’s complex shapes also presented access and health and safety challenges. “It was challenging working around the slopes, especially at those heights,” Andy continues. “But Laing O’Rourke was very proactive when it came to safety, so together we overcame any obstacles.”

As well as meeting the architect’s aesthetic requirements, Andy believes that the Sarnafil system offered additional advantages increasingly sought by today’s educational clients. “It’s a cost-effective choice, which is important for a school, so the price as well as the visual appearance fitted the bill.” Andy also adds that “it’s durable and long-lasting” largely thanks to Sarnafil’s BBA-certified life expectancy in excess of 40 years.

Sarnafil’s Mark Golder, southern regional sales manager and technical advisor on this project, agrees that such benefits are essential to schools, especially in light of the Government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative. “BSF encourages the construction industry and its educational clients to look more closely at designing, building and maintaining schools in a way that takes whole life costs and environmental performance into account,” Mark explains.

“Sarnafil is committed to the BSF initiative and strives to meet its challenges by assisting in the design, procurement, installation and facilities management phases of a BSF project. Thomas Deacon Academy is the embodiment of the BSF vision, so I’m delighted that our market-leading product and support services have enabled the academy and its architect to meet BSF’s objectives and lead the way in cutting-edge school design.”

A new ‘Building Better Learning Environments’ brochure outlines Sarnafil’s support for the BSF initiative. Free copies are available using the email provided.

Email: crossfield.rebecca@sarnafil.co.uk