15 September 2008
HUNDREDS of students are launching into post-16 college classes this autumn in a series of flexible recycled shipping containers.
The innovative two-storey structure has gone up in 10-weeks at a total cost of £450,000 on the Shooters Hill Post 16 Campus in Red Lion Lane, SE18, and will allow up to 100 additional students to enrol each year.
The thirty newly fitted out containers make up nine new rooms and three storage areas, with five adaptable trade workshops – for plumbing, electrical installation, brickwork and general maintenance courses – an Art Gallery and three generic teaching spaces for the Campus, all made possible due to the low construction costs of the original project.
Councillor Jackie Smith, Greenwich Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said:
“These new facilities are a fantastic addition to the Shooters Hill Campus. The new classrooms will mean even more students can benefit from the wide variety of courses and educational opportunities available.”
The college’s new Art, Design and Photographic Gallery is flexible enough to exhibit work from every course-level. Students will also be able to learn how to be curators and promoters – and there’s sufficient space next door for catering students to put on buffets for visitors.
The cabins came from China and have been installed on site by Urban Space Management, based across the Thames from The O2. They are made up of 90% recycled and carbon neutral material and are insulated to such a high standard that the energy required to run the facility is kept low.
Councillor Smith added:
“I’m especially pleased with the environmental efficiency of the new facilities and hope to see more of this forward-thinking in future projects.”
ENDS