Brecon Road Infant School

MERTHYR NURSERY FIRST IN WALES TO KEEP WARM USING WELSH WOOL

Children who will attend a brand new extension at Brecon Road Infants School in Merthyr are to be the first in Wales to be kept warm from a brand new, locally sourced insulating material.

Designed by the Cardiff office of Atkins, the multi-discipline design and engineering firm, the new £500,000 timber framed nursery includes a number of unique sustainable features including sheep’s wool that has been sourced specifically from the Welsh hills.

Used in the roof and walls of the building the wool insulation will mean the nursery achieves eco-targets set out by the Government. Other sustainable features include the use of timber eco-windows.

Architect Robert Spencer from Atkins explains: “We wanted to use a technically excellent product with good insulation values that was sourced locally and had desirable environmental credentials. We also had to consider health and safety when specifying materials and components in the design of the nursery school and the benefits of natural wool fibre over other products was a prime factor.”

With sustainability featuring high on the political and design agendas it was important that the nursery extension has a very low impact on the local environment.

Called Ty-Mawr Thermafleece, the new wool insulation was produced by Brecon based company Ty-Mawr which worked closely with the manufacturers Second Nature UK in Cumbria. Having to work within the parameters of the British Wool Marketing Board, meant that Ty-Mawr couldn’t buy direct from Welsh sheep farmers. However by segregating the Welsh wool during the buying process meant that the wool used in the Brecon Road School came from Wales which in turn will help stimulate the Welsh rural economy.

Involved in some of the world’s most iconic building structures including the Millennium Stadium, the team at Atkins is able to draw on a wealth of experience for more local project like the Brecon Road School.

Robert added: “The project has given the Atkins team the opportunity to demonstrate its skills in developing educational building design at a local level, skills that have been honed on projects right across the world. It’s great to be able to use these skills closer to home and see the extension nearing completion.

“We have a dedicated team which focuses specifically on the design of educational buildings and it’s great to be able to be involved in a project that’s literally on our doorstep.”