Elmgrove Primary School and Nursery

With a brief to replace the main single-storey building and a recent extension, Innes Associates has designed dynamic new facilities for Elmgrove Primary School and Nursery in north London. The new accommodation is centred around two landscape spaces – the entrance area and a central courtyard. The open area at the entrance to the building provides the setting for the building as well as additional play space, and the courtyard acts as the heart of the school. The four-form entry school for 860 pupils has been designed for optimal accessibility to provide a fully integrated space for pupils with physical disabilities.

Key activity spaces within the school including the halls, staircases and the breakfast club are positioned around the courtyard to promote movement and visibility. Junckers SylvaSport Club solid beech flooring was specified for large main hall, a safe and durable option ideal for the many different activities the space is used for.

A lively-looking floor with colour and structural graining variation, SylvaSport Club is an area elastic floor to EN14904 standard, certified for multipurpose sport use. Junckers’ trademark longer staves gives this solid Beech floor greater and more consistent strength.

Innes Associated set the target BREEAM ‘Excellent’ for the new school building, determined in part by the use of sustainable materials which included Junckers flooring. By specifying a Junckers floor, the architect was able to help reduce emodied carbon in the building.

Ways in which a Junckers solid hardwood floor helps contribute to a low carbon build include:

• Reducing or eliminating building materials with high embodied carbon - Timber is carbon positive; trees sequester carbon during their growth and thereby prevent global warming.
• Better quality construction for longevity - Specifying one floor for the life of the building; Junckers floors can be refurbished multiple times.
• Specifying products with long lifespans – Reduces waste as well as demands upon energy and resources.
• Use durable materials that are easy to maintain – Hardwood floors can be sanded and refinished rather than having to be replaced.
• Reuse building materials at deconstruction/design for disassembly – Junckers floors can be lifted and used again; thousands of square metres are reused every year through the company’s Reuse Scheme.

A solid hardwood Junckers floor can be sanded and re-finished eight to ten times during its life. With 12-year intervals between sandings, a typical lifespan of 60 years will comfortably be exceeded, a claim no other type of sports floor can match. In addition, a hardwood floor is one of the most environmentally friendly sports floor finishes there is, Junckers’ timber comes from managed forests with FSC® and PEFC chain of custody certification and product-specific EPDs are available to help specifiers to select a sustainable option.

The light-coloured beech floor helps enhance lighting levels, reducing the need for artificial light and therefore saving energy. In contrast to a dark surface, which absorbs and holds heat and subsequently releases it back into the room, a pale floor will not contribute to overheating, reducing the need for air conditioning systems.

With a perfectly smooth surface, a solid wood floor from Junckers cannot harbour dust or mites. As an all-natural material, wood contributes to an even and balanced indoor climate as it helps maintain temperature in a room and reduces static from any electrical equipment. With a positive impact on indoor climate, Junckers’ floors hold the Danish Indoor Climate label and have undergone extensive degassing and odour testing to ensure there are no chemical substances in the flooring. Junckers also complies with EU legislation REACH.

The flooring was installed by PICA Floorings Ltd. The main contractor was Kier Construction. 

Photo: Peter Durant