McVeigh SIPs have completed the SIPs installation at John Ferneley High School in Melton Mowbray. The design proposals by White Design Architects were to produce a school that is an exemplar of sustainable design and construction. Consequently 150mm thick and 180mm thick Structural Insulated panels were selected for the external walls and sections of the roof. Most of the secondary steel was eliminated by the use of Large Format SIPs. Window openings upto 5m wide were formed using timber reinforcement around openings.

McVeigh SIPs were invited to join the Design Team early on in the design process and this was key to the success of the Project. Having the early involvement on a scheme ensures that the most efficient incorporation of the SIPs.

A pitched roof forms a spine down the centre of the school and this covers the main corridor named ‘The Street’. The Street Roof was constructed using large format panels craned into position and this helped us to install the 900m2 in 3 days.

Key Successes

• Early integration with design team.
• Large format panels incorporating large window openings eliminating most of the secondary steel
• Large Format roof cassettes allowing rapid site installation
• Thermally efficient SIPs fixed to the outside of the steelframe
• Design Flexibility for the external finishes