St. Michael’s Primary School – Kitchen Extension And Refurbishment

A popular and successful school in East London; St. Michael’s is a busy and compact site, serving just over 250 students. As with many urban schools, St. Michael’s faces challenges with its site and ensuring building needs can be met. The kitchen faced a particular struggle, at just 58% of the EFA’s recommended 45m2 in Building Bulletin 99 (BB99). The introduction of the EFA’s Universal Infants Free School Meals (UIFSM) initiative placed increased pressure on an already busy facility.

Working on compact sites, space planning is key. The design provided the requisite addition in kitchen space, along with a new office and storeroom. To balance the design, an additional PE storeroom was also provided. The design was sympathetic to the hall; with a simple pitched-roof and face brick to match the existing.

Whilst the design of the new kitchen was straightforward, the provision of Mechanical and Electrical services presented more significant challenges. The existing gas main had to be re-routed to accommodate the building. Such works require careful coordination of the programme to avoid delays, but was completed successfully. The kitchen extension would also allow additional equipment to be used. An upgrade to the electrical supply was also required, and again required careful coordination to avoid any delays within the project.

Building contractor MT Build led the scheme, which was completed during the spring term. Working on a ‘live’ site presents many challenges, but the works were completed safely and satisfactorily. Catering supplier Qube Catering provided the kitchen fit-out of equipment; providing the kitchen with a range of new catering equipment.