Greenhead College

Client Department for Education

Sector Education, Schools and Colleges

Location North East & Yorkshire

Value £25m

Greenhead College is one of the first generation of Net Zero Carbon in Operation (NZCiO) school buildings being built as part of the Department for Education's School Rebuilding Programme.

The £25m project, involves the redevelopment of the sixth-form college campus to provide new modern teaching facilities, as well as removing the use of non-green energy sources on site.

By adopting a fabric first approach and utilising passive design methods, the overall energy demand of Greenhead College is being vastly reduced. As part of this a unique biodiverse roof is being constructed, combining energy-creating PhotoVoltaic (PV) cells, with a living habitat for birds and insects.

Greenhead College lies within the Greenhead Park Conservation Area in Huddersfield and is in close proximity to a number of historic buildings, as well as the Grade II-listed, Greenhead Park. The college site is densely occupied and includes the former high school for girls building dating from 1907, giving further historic context to the project.

The project minimises the impact on Greenhead Park and the conservation area and provides a coherent college campus by integrating the new building with the existing blocks.

It locates the social and study spaces adjacent to the historic building creating an impressive learning environment and includes a complementary elevational treatment to the façade facing the historic building and Greenhead Park.