Tata Steel creates framework for 'modern, energy efficient' schools in the UK

AS UK plans to build modern schools, Europe's leading steel producer Tata Steel has built a framework for the next generation of schools in the country.

Along with construction industry experts in the UK, Tata Steel is developing a kit of parts allowing highly energy efficient schools to be built off-site and then shipped to their final location.

The project, funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will show how standardised components can be mass-produced to deliver better quality, performance and value for sectors including education and healthcare, said Tata Steel in a statement.

"This will reduce waste, save time, give good value for taxpayers money," the statement said. It claims that the building could be 100 per cent recycled at the end of its life.

The new method will allow schools to grow and adapt as required. Besides, the standardised off-site construction approach can also be used to create emergency health care facilities in times of crisis.

“Traditional building techniques using bricks, mortar and wood can be slow, wasteful and have a significant impact on the environment. This project will allow thousands of children to have access to education in buildings which have been designed using the latest technology, constructed off-site to lower emissions and can be repurposed and recycled," said Phil Clements, Tata Steel UK Technical Director.

The school rebuilding programme by the UK government will start in 2020-21 with the first 50 projects supported by more than £1 billion in funding.

The government aims to reduce the construction costs and whole life costs of buildings by a third, while seeing those same buildings  delivered in half the time and with a 50 per cent reduction in

carbon emissions from the construction sector.

The off-site building experts Blacc, Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), off-site manufacturers Elliott Group and McAvoy Group, Tata Steel, Active Building Centre (ABC) and the National Composite Centre (NCC) are part of the consortium behind the project.