Gresham’s Nursery and Pre-Prep School

The school wanted a glass roof canopy for a covered outdoor play area.

Background

Gresham’s Nursey and Pre-Prep School got in touch with us as they wanted us to install a glass roof canopy over their newly developed play area.

The requirement

The project would be completed alongside the contractors, R G Cater, and architects, Daniel Connal Partnership.

The school needed a covered area that would allow for year-round outdoor play. The school is old and very unique, having been established back in 1555. While the school wanted a modern canopy, it was important for it also compliment the traditional style of the existing buildings.

The challenge

We needed the canopy to offer a perfect blend of modern and traditional, while being practical and fitting harmoniously into the space.

We discovered that there were several soil pipes at the left-hand side of the canopy. These were case iron and built into the school wall, so could not be moved.

The project also ran to a tight installation schedule which would need to be adhered to.

The solution

We have worked with the contractors on numerous previous occasions, so we worked well together and helped throughout the entire tender process. Our glass Veranda canopy was identified as a suitable alternative to the proposed design and was taken through to construction.

We colour matched the grey of the canopy to a particular shade, to match with other parts of the building. The glass roof was completed with a blue tint, which would help to protect the children from UV rays and looks particularly striking against the building. We also added some ornate features onto the posts and gallows section of the canopy as a nod to the age of the school building.

We decided that, rather than work around the soil pipes and potentially hamper future maintenance access, we would move the canopy slightly away from the side wall, leaving a small gap. We used a specially reduced section in the glass roof as well as a specially designed flashing around the pipe itself to achieve this.

Results

The project was completed in the planned time frame, with plenty of time left for handover to the contractor for additional works.

The school now has a stylish canopy that adds a modern edge to the school building and compliments the architecture perfectly. Children at Gresham’s Nursery and Pre-Prep school can now enjoy covered, outdoor play all throughout the year.