FACILITIES FIRM GIVES FREE MAKEOVER TO YOUTH CENTRE

Children North East chief executive Jeremy Cripps with _space facilities associate director Andrew Moore outside of the WEYES building on Graingerville North looking at the plans.

A facilities firm has pledged to redesign a Newcastle youth drop-in centre free of charge in a bid to keep the vital service on its feet.

The West End Youth Enquiry Service (WEYES) project, run by charity Children North East, has been operating out of a rundown Victorian building in Graingerville North, West Newcastle, for the last decade.

Now Tyneside-based _space facilities, part of Space Group, has pledged to give the charity free design and surveying services to completely renovate the building.

The building is currently in such a bad condition that the charity has been forced to move into temporary accommodation on Grainger Park Road in the city until the renovation is complete.

_space facilities has already begun drafting the designs for a suite of new treatment rooms, a new waiting area, kitchen and toilet facilities, an office and ‘open zone’ rehabilitation area.

The WEYES project, which has also gained support from Geordie actor Tim Healy, is an advice and health centre for some of the most difficult to reach young people who live, work or go to school in the West End.

Over the past 10 years, 7,500 young people have passed through its doors looking for advice on a range of issues. Counsellors and nurses are on-hand to give advice on general, sexual and mental health, as well as education, housing and employment issues.

_space facilities associate director Andrew Moore, who is heading up the scheme, said: “We are well underway with the new designs to bring the building up-to-date and make it a brighter and more welcoming place to help support young people living in Newcastle, who may otherwise have limited chances.

“Creating and maintaining sustainable communities and helping charities, such as this, bring the community together and are things we are very passionate about as a business.

“As Children North East is one of our chosen charities, we will do everything we can to help them keep this service going and that is why we have donated our services in kind.

“We are urging more sponsors and supporters to come forward to help donate building materials, interiors features and so on.”

Children North East chief executive Jeremy Cripps said: “We previously rented the building so we were unable to do anything to it. It has become a really horrible site - inside and out - and needs a lot of work done to make it a bright and welcoming place for young people to want to come.

“Children North East has since bought the building so now we are really able to do things to it to make it look fabulous – which is where _space facilities comes in.

“We are really grateful for Space Group’s help in making this building a centre for the future for the young people of today.”

Work will start once planning permission has been granted, with completion due by the end of this year.

Children North East needs to raise £250,000 to help make the project come to life and fund building materials.

To help support the refurbishment of the WEYES project, donate online at www.justgiving/weyes or call Children North East on: (0191) 256-2444.

Construction students to rebuild the Gherkin

Photo caption: Northumbria University’s School of the Built Environment students during the first workshop at Space Architecture.

70 students from Northumbria University are to rebuild the Gherkin and two other world famous landmarks.

Three North East companies have teamed up with Northumbria University to invest in the future of young people entering the construction industry, providing them with a more unusual form of hands-on experience. Construction firm GB Building Solutions, recruitment consultants Corepeople and Space Architecture, part of the Space Group, are all helping provide 70 students with a creative building challenge at Constructionarium.

The students, who are studying construction related degrees at Northumbria University’s School of the Built Environment, will build scaled down versions of three of the world’s most iconic buildings: the Swiss Re building in London, better known as the Gherkin, Sheffield’s Millennium Galleries and the magnificent canopy roof of Naples Airport underground station.

Martin Smout, Chairman and Chief Executive of GB Building Solutions says: “This is the third year we have supported and invested in Constructionarium and we didn’t think that the recession was any reason not to. The UK economy is heavily reliant on the construction industry and it is vital we take the time and money now, to invest in the people who will be fundamental to our growth of tomorrow.”

Ian Storer is Executive Director for recruitment consultants Corepeople. He says: “We are the longest established and largest recruitment agency in the North East, specialising in the built environment, and receive regular comment from employers in the region that graduates rarely have the appropriate practical experience that employers need when they leave university. We are particularly pleased to have the opportunity to support this initiative as it helps meet a real need for employers.”

As part of Constructionarium, the students will spend a week at Bircham Newton in Norfolk. Working under the supervision of professionals from GB Building and Space Group, they will be fully responsible for all aspects of the construction work from planning, costing, programming and health and safety considerations through to labouring.

Workshops have already been held at the University and at Space Group where the students discussed and planned how they would take the project from a bare site, through to fully completed scaled-down buildings.

The students will learn how to use Revit, the latest construction software from Autodesk. Space Group has invested in the package for several years and has seen the benefits of bringing several disciplines together to work on a single building database.

Space Group Chief Executive Rob Charlton said: “We are hugely committed to allowing time to invest in developing talent for the future and investing in multi skilled professionals in the industry. It is essential now more than ever that students leave university with project management, cost control and hands on experience and Constructionarium helps them in this.”

Constructionarium works through the triangle of a university, a contractor and a designer working in partnership to deliver a new learning experience, which combines the academic perspective with the practical demands and skills of the design and construction professions.

Dr Paul Chan from Northumbria University says: “Constructionarium gives our students the opportunity to experience the entire construction process, with the invaluable support of our industry partners. It means that when our students graduate, they will go on site, not just with an excellent academic background, but also with the necessary practical skills to give them the confidence to take part right from day one.”

Northumbria University is the only North East University to take part in the project and the students will be attending from Sunday 26th April to Friday 1st May 2009. Other universities taking part this year include Southampton, Leeds, Cambridge, Nottingham and Imperial College.

A SCHOOL WITHOUT BARRIERS

CRAMLINGTON High School in coastal Northumberland was famed for its innovative approach to new learning techniques, long before it gained its shiny new building.

When North East architects _space were asked to translate the ethos of head teacher Derek Wise into a learning environment which matched up to his vision, they set about designing a building where every child could learn at their own pace, and where coming to school would excite and challenge them in their teenage years.

Two thousand students have recently moved in to the Cramlington Junior Learning Village complex which, thanks to pioneering Faraday funding, is also home to a mini Eden Project-style biome.

A specialist science college, Cramlington JLV is a flexible, IT rich environment. It has been designed for children to learn individually or in cluster groups, but without the formal structure of dividing walls and children sitting in rows.

Peer-to-peer learning is encouraged through spaces that flow together, allowing classes to interact in breakout zones and up to 120 children to gather in the science learning plaza. The informality of the environment gives children the chance to go at their own pace, experiment, coach and mentor each other.

The looser, open plan classroom environment also allows for team teaching areas for large groups - all new concepts for the teaching profession.

However, head teacher Derek Wise has long been known as a pioneer and knows only too well the importance the physical environment plays in helping the teachers engage and inspire young people in secondary education.

Classrooms have “docking stations” rather than desks. Children sit in groups of up to four sharing two PCs. They are free to face in whatever direction is best for group or individual learning, as the tables can be unlocked and moved inwards for group sessions, or turned back to the wall for work in smaller groups or alone.

Andrew Grounsell, lead architect on the project and associate director at _space, says: “The success of our building can only be seen when the teachers and pupils begin reacting to their new environment. We are now watching with interest how they interact with the space, how new teaching practices emerge and flourish.

“Every part of the building has been designed with multiple use and flexibility for children and teachers to colonise as they wish. The heart of the building is a colossal street that can hold the whole school, or even be used as a cafe-style eating area.

“We have created a real sense of collaboration and openness, not least by ensuring that every staff room is set between classrooms and has completely glass walls so pupils can see them, and they can always be present for students.

“There is no ‘us and them’ attitude to the school, which helps children embrace learning and be more interactive with their teachers.”

Cramlington JLV is one of the first seven exemplar schools, and only one of 13 that successfully received Faraday funding.

These additional funds were spent on an outstanding biome complex, which will not only teach botany, biology, energy and the environment, but will provide a challenging backdrop for other subjects such as art and design or drama. This will be supported by an extensive landscaping phase next year, creating an external outdoor learning garden.

Head teacher Derek Wise says: “We are thrilled with our genuine 21st Century school. It's everything we wanted and it will allow us to realise our vision.

“The range of learning environments encourages different approaches to learning and teaching. We are yet to really exploit its potential but there is no doubt that it's an exciting place to be.”