Piggott School

RCDC provided and guided full MEP design for the science block extension at Piggott Secondary School, Wokingham working directly for Wokingham Borough Council and the school as end clients. The project formed part of council-wide school extension plan aimed at increasing student capacity across three schools.

As part of the plan, Piggott School was provided with an extension to the existing science block and a new multipurpose hall, resulting in 3 new fully equipped science classrooms and a preparation room, as well as a new multipurpose hall for over 200 students, a sixth form area and a full-scale kitchen. We developed the design for RIBA stages 2-3 and acted as client's side technical advisors during stages 4 and 5 of design and build.

For the science block, we extended the school’s existing services, making the heating system compatible with low-carbon heat sources. For the new dining hall, new PV panel arrays were provided, as well as air source heat pumps acting as mains sources of space heating and domestic hot water generation.

To minimise the risk of overheating while also maximising useful solar gain, a simulation model was developed for the hall canopy, compiling over 5000 rooflight and external canopy design iterations. As a result, a fully natural ventilation-reliant design was provided and adopted.