PROJECT PROFILE
ULIDIA INTEGRATED COLLEGE, CARRICKFERGUS
ULIDIA INTEGRATED COLLEGE IS THE LATEST ADDITION TO OHMG’S EXTENSIVE PORTFOLIO OF HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATIONAL BUILDINGS, WITH THE MAIN CONTRACTOR DELIVERING AN INNOVATIVE, ENERGY-EFFICIENT CAMPUS WHICH SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCES THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE… CREATING A PERMANENT HOME FOR POST-PRIMARY INTEGRATED EDUCATION
Demand for pupil places has grown significantly since Ulidia Integrated College first opened in 1999, using largely temporary structures to accommodate an initial enrolment of 240 students. The burgeoning Carrickfergus post- primary was accordingly granted £25m by the Department of Education in the first tranche of Fresh Start Agreement funding for integrated education. Recognising its extensive experience in delivering high-quality educational buildings, OHMG was awarded the develop-and-construct project for a newbuild school with capacity for over 700 pupils. The Newry-based construction company was charged with delivering
Hamilton Architects’ vision of enhancing students’ learning experience by building an innovative, energy-efficient campus maximising the site’s views over Belfast Lough. Targeting BREEAM Excellent, sustainability was a major focus, while challenges included complex phasing of the build to avoid disruption to the operational existing school and surrounding neighbourhood. Preconstruction work commenced in June 2021, with construction getting underway in September 2022. A first phase encompassing preparatory work and the newbuild was completed in November 2024, while a second phase - entailing demolition of the old school buildings and completion of the sports
facilities - is on track for completion in March 2025. The new school comprises 10,314sqm of floorspace across two and three-storey buildings, housing classrooms, a library, learning resource centre, media facilities, sixth-form common room, technician accommodation and storage rooms. Also included are sports and multipurpose halls, toilet, cloak, shower and changing rooms for pupils and staff, general staff offices, a dining hall, kitchen and plant space. With a drop of around 22m from the back to the front of the site, where the newbuild is constructed, extensive regrading was required to form level areas for the buildings, car parking and playing fields.
“The facilities here are second to none and OHMG is extremely proud to have delivered yet another amazing education project.”
BUILDEX BELFAST : REGISTER TO ATTEND AT WWW.BEPEX.IE
20 | NI BUILDER
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online