The Anchor-Diamond, segmental concrete earth-retaining structure forms a 100m long snaking wall up to 2.8m high, and creates an enclosed play and recreation area for the pupils at the new, Herbert Strutt School in Belper.
The school is built on a sloping site which contractors Mansell Construction cut into to create the large, level building area for the single story building and its surrounding play-zone. The Anchor Diamond wall was used to retain material from the cut-back and, at the same time provide a decorative landscape feature in keeping with the predominantly "stone" building style of the district.
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Anchor Diamond is a segmental concrete retaining wall system that works with uni-axial geogrids to form a robust and highly efficient reinforced earth structure of immense strength. The individual blocks are like giant lego in that, they can be dry laid by hand onto prepared granular footings - no concrete or mortar is required.
The geogrids are sandwiched between the block courses and laid out behind the wall face in combination with layers of compacted, backfill. At the Herbert Strutt School site the back fill was primarily site-won, having been reclaimed from the demolished buildings that previously occupied the site.
The use of reclaimed materials in the wall construction fitted perfectly with the environmental/sustainability ethos taken by Derbyshire County Council. The School was conceived and designed in anticipation of the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Methodology [BREEAM], which is the world’s longest standing and most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings. It sets the standard for best practice in sustainable development and demonstrates a level of achievement. It has become the vocabulary used to describe a building's environmental performance.
Amongst other green features, the £3.7m school incorporates its own energy generation system, high levels of thermal insulation and a rainwater recycling facility. The re-use of site won back fill therefore complements this practice as it not only minimises the importation of construction materials but also dramatically reduces heavy vehicle movements to and from the site.
(CD/JM)
