ISG to build three DfMA schools worth £35m

ISG will harness new Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) techniques to build three new schools across the UK, after £35m of framework wins with the Department for Education (DfE).

The new projects include Compass School Southwark, which is the largest to be awarded to ISG on the framework, Two Rivers CofE Primary School – a Passivhaus Plus project in Keynsham – and Chelveston Road School in Northamptonshire, catering to those with moderate learning difficulties. 

These latest wins follow the completion of Churchward School
in Swindon earlier this year, which represents the latest iteration of ISG’s
standard component design approach.

Alongside schemes at Badbury Park, Norton Hill and Monkerton
in the South West, each school is being constructed using replicated standard
components, such as structural and roof solutions. ISG said the approach would result
in “consistently high quality and timely delivery”.

ISG said that in line with DfE’s goal of adopting offsite
construction and manufacturing on new-build projects, it has developed
standardised and inter-operable components to allow for a repeatable and
cost-effective construction process that produces benchmarking performance data.

Zoe Price, chief operating officer for ISG’s UK Construction business, said: “The DfE’s goal to embrace digitised specification in its construction framework leads the way and encourages pioneering and modern practices from its partners. ISG is proud to be a part of such an innovative and forward-looking approach. By harnessing new and revolutionary DfMA elements, contractors, consultants and supply chain participants can align operations. This in turn enables better collaboration and smarter ways of working that pool expertise across the board and delivers enriched learning environments.”