A Shetland Islands school which occupies arguably the most exposed coastal location in the UK has been transformed with high performance Sheerframe curtain walling fabricated and installed by local firm Garriock Brothers.

Facing the brunt of harsh winds and violent storms blowing off the North Sea high above Lerwick, the 300-pupil Bells Brae Primary School is one of the country’s most northerly schools and the largest primary school on the islands.

Ever since its construction in 1971, and despite the use of the best available timber and steel fenestration systems over time, the weather has constantly gained the upper hand, particularly with the school’s south-facing elevation which features full height and width structural curtain walling.

Keen to deliver a lasting solution, Shetland Islands Council turned to Sheerframe PVC window and curtain walling systems and local fabricator and installer Garriock Brothers.  Aberdeen based consulting architects Arch Henderson were appointed by the council to ensure the overall refurbishment was completed to a standard which could cope with the high wind loadings experienced locally.

Detailed structural design recommendations were given to the Sheerframe technical support team including on-site training and installation advice, and bespoke fixing brackets were made to suit the building design to ensure resistance to the extreme weather conditions.

In addition to providing a product and installation which excelled where others had failed, Garriock Brothers were faced with a second major challenge – how to complete this extensive window and curtain walling replacement project without causing disruption to teaching. 

The company achieved this by making use of a temporary building provided by the council containing four classrooms which allowed the work to be carried out in phases.  Temporary partitioning was also erected within classrooms to allow transitions between phases and the contractor’s external work areas were completely fenced off from the remainder of the school grounds, with material deliveries taking place out of school hours.

Bells Brae Primary School features in excess of 200 fixed and top hung casement windows which are restricted for child safety.  The new curtain walling comprises a robust aluminium structural grid system into which the hard-wearing Sheerframe PVC windows are fitted.

The £400,000 investment in Bells Brae Primary School by the Shetland Islands Council is already paying dividends according to the council’s Technical Services Manager, Carl Symonds:

“The project went very smoothly overall and we are really pleased with the outcome.  The internal environment has been transformed and we’ve experienced only a handful of minor snagging issues – which is remarkable on a project of this scale.  Externally the school has been improved dramatically which is hugely important given the building’s prominent location.

“Garriock Brothers managed the project extremely well in demanding circumstances and the school was able to operate as near as possible to ‘business as usual’.  Their nearby base and local knowledge played an important role in this, but so too did the technical support of L.B. Plastics and Arch Henderson.”

Further information on Sheerframe curtain walling is available at www.sheerframe.co.uk and details about Garriock Brothers can be found at www.garriock.co.uk.