Designing Timber issue 10 for online - Flipbook - Page 59
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Sweet chestnut
battens clad
the exterior
of Hackbridge
Primary School.
←
Completed
in 2020,
Hackbridge
Primary School
in Sutton
was built to
Passivhaus Plus
standards, and
generates more
energy than it
consumes.
certi昀椀cates in themselves can
be extremely prescriptive.
Performance-based
assessment was what
Maybury Primary School, one
of the schools featured, used.
This type of assessment uses
the original 昀椀re test data to
validate a computer model of
the same detail with all of the
corresponding speci昀椀cs. The
model is then varied to match
the actual design detail; the
model then veri昀椀es whether
the detail will perform to the
required measures.
Safe Schools recommends
including an independent
third-party review with
performance-based
assessments, to provide
con昀椀dence in the outputs
to other parties. The report
says that, from experience,
Building Control have been
understanding and accepting
of performance-based
assessments and suggests
setting up workshops with
them and the 昀椀re consultant
leading the assessment.
E昀케cient supply chains
and an engaged project
team
following AD:B guidance does
not guarantee a building
to comply with the legal
requirements of the Building
Regulations.
A performance-based,
competence-driven design
approach to 昀椀re safety
compliance is what Safe
Schools proposes. “The
term ‘Performance-based
design’,” it states, “is industryrecognized as an approach
that is quanti昀椀able, typically
with bespoke calculations,
and it can be approached
in multiple ways.” When
adopting a performancebased approach, it goes
on to say, “competent
professionals choose which
aspects will be calculated,
and which aspects may
use existing data or
approximate values.”
It does not shy away
from the challenges of
compliance. One is access
to the manufacturer’s
昀椀re certi昀椀cates for the
products used and, ideally,
the test data behind them.
Even if this information
can be sourced, the 昀椀re
DESIGNING TIMBER
59
NOV/DEC 2025
High-performance outcomes
require collaboration and
buy-in from all project team
members. Engagement
with skilled professionals
is essential for delivering
safe and e昀케cient school
environments, while developers
and site managers must also
understand high-performance
principles. De昀椀ning ambitions
via certi昀椀cation schemes
such as Passivhaus can help
maintain the project vision and
its requirements across the
supply chain.
A skilled and scrupulous
UNDERSTANDING
———— SAFE SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE ————
