Wakefield College to get £3m revamp
THE exterior of Wakefield College’s Radcliffe Building is getting a £3m transformation.
Bardsley Construction Yorkshire has secured the contract, which will also provide new teaching space with an extension to the fifth floor.
The Leeds-based division of Bardsley Construction will revamp the exterior of the 1960s building through a combination of insulated render, trespa cladding and glazing.
The new mix of materials designed by architects IBI Taylor Young will replace the current facade of the five-storey Radcliffe Building at the College’s city centre campus, including the construction of a roof-top extension to form a new science block.
Wakefield College will remain fully operational during the course of the 39-week project that is due to be completed in August 2014 for the 2014-2015 educational year.
This project follows others worth in excess of £7m to construct two new primary schools in Pontefract and Castleford for Wakefield Metropolitan Borough Council and a £4.3m contract to build an extension to Bradford Academy.
Bardsley, which has its head office in Manchester, built the primary schools as part of the YORbuild construction framework
Adrian Rooney, Leeds-based regional manager for Bardsley Construction Yorkshire, said: “This valued and prestigious contract with Wakefield College builds upon our expertise in the provision of facilities for the public sector and in particular, school and college buildings within Yorkshire.”
College principal, Sam Wrigh,t said: “We are delighted to be working with Bardsley on the next phase of the planned redevelopment of our city centre Campus. The proposed work will transform the view of the Radcliffe Building giving it a sleek, modern look complementing the wonderful Harrison Building whilst at the same time increasing its energy efficiency as set out under our Carbon Management Plan.
“The additional floor space will provide state of the art learning spaces including brand new science labs which our sixth form students will benefit from for years to come. These are exciting times for Wakefield College and we are as committed as ever to providing modern learning facilities for all our learners.”
