Luminous Oak is a new purpose-built special educational needs school forming part of Hampshire County Council’s programme to expand SEMH (Social, Emotional and Mental Health) provision across the region.
Challenge
Expanding an SEMH school for more pupils
The two-storey building will provide 125 places for pupils aged eight to sixteen and includes classrooms, therapy and sensory spaces, a fitness suite and a main hall within an inclusive, modern learning environment. The design also incorporates a double-height sports and dining hall and a single-storey plant and kitchen wing, providing flexibility and clear internal spans.
Solution
Steel framing & piled foundations
Calcinotto are providing full civil and structural engineering services, working closely with the wider design team to develop a robust and sustainable design.
The structure comprises a steel frame with composite floors, supported on piled foundations and a reinforced concrete ground slab. The building’s structural frame and foundation system were developed to reduce embodied carbon while accommodating the complex ground conditions of the site.
Our civil engineering design introduces a sustainable drainage system that combines permeable paving, flow-controlled attenuation tanks, infiltration tree pits and hydrocarbon-filtering smart gully adaptors. These measures ensure controlled discharge rates equivalent to natural greenfield runoff while improving water quality and resilience to long-term climate change.
Construction is scheduled to begin in Spring 2025, with completion expected in Summer 2026 ahead of the school’s opening that September.
- Categories Education
