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Ystrad Mynach College - Engineering Services

Ystrad Mynach College wanted to become one of the largest further education colleges in Wales. They appointed us to provide multidisciplinary engineering services to build a new, high-quality facility to get them closer to that goal.

The project required the development of a four-storey teaching block as an extension to one of the College's original 1950s concrete framed buildings. The block would include general classrooms, a hair and beauty studio, a learning resource centre, and a new refectory and kitchen facilities. Additionally, the College wanted the building to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating.

We carried out an early site investigation report at the start of the project, which allowed design development to begin quickly. Our continued close working relationship with all members of the design, construction, and client teams allowed for refinements to the scheme without compromising the delivery schedule.

Out team incorporated a number of civil and structural features to provide significant benefits in sustainable design. These included thermal mass and exposed concrete structural soffits, rainwater harvesting, installation of a biomass system, and the use of a natural ventilation strategy linked to a building management system to control building cooling overnight.

We went on to provide services for Phase 2 of the development¡ªa sports and leisure teaching facility that required planning permission from the Welsh Assembly. Our structural scheme included a dramatic feature roof and cantilevered fitness studio, as well as a section of aircraft fuselage¡ªused for air steward training¡ªsuspended above the central atrium space.

The design and subsequent building works achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating, scoring highly across all categories and winning multiple awards. Ystrad Mynach College eventually merged with Coleg Morgannwg to become Coleg y Cymoedd, meaning College of the Valleys and serving almost 20,000 students and over 1,000 employees.