Howe Dell Primary School

With the pressure on for school buildings to run more efficiently, Hertfordshire County Council was among the first to demonstrate its commitment at Howe Dell Primary School: the UK's first sustainable school. The original building was deemed unfit for purpose, leading to the brief for a school that featured the latest in sustainable technology and could act as a beacon project for schools across the country. Howe Dell School has since been awarded the highest rating under the UK's eco-schools programme and been used as a pilot for the BREEAM for Schools eco-assessment. Mace's multi-disciplinary design team provided project management, construction management and design consultancy, eventually taking over the contracting when the original firm went into administration.

Mace's multi-disciplinary role allowed the team of design consultants, engineers and school and sustainability experts to work together to ensure the challenges of the pioneering project were met, without compromising the council's ambitions. Mace was able to use the project as an educational tool, allowing the school to introduce an "eco curriculum" involving pupils in the design of their new school and ensuring that building users are fully aware of their own impact on the environment and the efficiency of the building. More than two years on from the project's completion, Mace has collected a wealth of data about the building and its renewable technologies to inform future education projects.