CITY ACADEMY

City Academy Norwich has been constructed under the Academies framework. Working closely with the contractor, we developed a steel and timber hybrid to combine the carbon benefits of timber construction with long-span open spaces. The estimated 3,000 tonnes equivalent carbon saved versus traditional construction is a tribute to Ramboll’s sustainable credentials.

The new-build academy has a single-storey entrance wing backed by a three-storey curved building. The hybrid construction provides the client with a flexible floor plate, adaptable for future uses by changing the partitions. The roof, floor and walls are of loadbearing cross-laminated timber (CLT) with a central steelwork spine to support the structure internally. Using 500mm deep CLT cassettes allowed us to increase the floor spans to 10m.

At the rear of the school, a full-height glazed atrium and performance space overlooks woods. It features a curving walkway supported on branched columns with hidden fixings that echo the trees outside. CLT design for the walkway included single panel width decks and balustrade panels that were pulled to curvature in situ. Elsewhere, CLT is exposed on soffits and stair cores.

Our comprehensive design service reduced risk and optimised programme — the superstructure was erected in only 17 weeks. We focused on structural design of the timber elements and worked collaboratively with the timber supply chain to reduce the overall timber volume to 3,078 cubic metres. The contractor made maximum use of prefabricated construction techniques, with service openings in the steel frame being precut in the factory to reduce the time of services installation and reap the benefit of early building watertightness.

Passive Solar

Shading system

High efficient façade

Photovoltaics

District heating scheme

Rainwater harvesting

Low-emitting materials and finishes