1. Delivering 21st century education.
Meeting the Challenges of Delivering High Quality
Education Facilities in The 21st Century

2. SIS – a key company within GEMS Education
Solutions
Introduction by Chris Kirk, CEO of GEMS Education
Solutions
School School
Education Strategy Improvement Infrastructure Managed Schools
Programmes Services

3. Introduction
Chief Executive Office, Richard Stone
20 years experience in the field of international
project and programme management, last 9 years
focused within the education sector
Experience in delivery through the Private Finance
Initiative (PFI), Building Schools for the Future
Programme and Academies Programmes within the
UK
Last three years based in UAE

4. What Clients Want
• Achieve Value for Money
• Improved Speed of Delivery
• High Standard of Quality
• Flexibility and Adaptability
• Sustainability
• Innovation
Above considerations are inextricably linked together throughout the
design and construction process.

5. Value for Money
• Balance the initial design and construction costs with the cost of
lighting, heating, cooling, repairing and otherwise operating and
maintaining the facility
• Remember FFE can be a significant component in capital
expenditure. Development of standard specifications and good
supply chain management can yield significant savings
• Land can be expensive and sites in built up areas may be restricted
in size - maximise development potential of site by utilsing roof
space for play and recreational uses
• Maximise utilisation of space by ensuring that accommodation
schedule is based on a proper curriculum analysis

6. Value for Money
Use of roof space to maximise
available play and recreational areas

7. Value for Money
Development of standard specifications to source alternatives and
negotiate supply chain agreements

8. Value for Money
Properly integrated cost data bases linked to specifications will
facilitate better buying !

9. Speed of Delivery
• Off site solutions such as modular or prefabricated systems
• Components can be manufactured in parallel with securing
authority approvals to commence work to reducing construction
period
• Not without some risk ! Proceeding with off site manufacturing
before final approval can result in abortive work
• Key to this approach : -
• Early coordination of design
• Relationship with Authorities flexibility is possible

10. Speed of Delivery
Winchester School Extension, UAE :
 Three Storey Building, approx 10,000m²
BUA
 Pre-cast system introduced for speed
and to minimise disruption to existing
school
 Build time of 6 months

11. Speed of Delivery
American Academy, Abu Dhabi, UAE :
 2,100 students K-12 School
 G+2 Three with BUA of 27,500 m2
 Precast beam and column system
 Piling to handover in 12 months

12. Speed of Delivery
Other considerations : -
• Partnering arrangements with contractors – early involvement
to ensure buildability incorporated into the design
• Phased approach – build as required based on student ramp
ups – essential to incorporate this into design at early stage to
ensure proper planning
• Clients with high volumes of work can leverage efficiencies by
looking at standardising design and construction processes to
improve speed of delivery

13. Speed of Delivery
PHASED
APPROACH TO
CONSTRUCTION
PHASE 2

14. Flexibility And Adaptability
• Future capacity - consider building in for growth – future proof
foundations and services
• Flexibility and adaptability of teaching environment to suit new
methods of teaching and developing technologies
• Innovation should be a way of thinking integrated into the project
life cycle to provide novel solutions to problems ! Innovation for
the sake of innovation is just waste

15. Flexibility And Adaptability
Adaptability of furniture
Break out areas provide greater
flexibility for use of space

16. Good Quality Design
• Ensure that the right people are engaged in the design
development process – identify stakeholders early on
• ICT, Educationalists, Designers all need to have an input to the
design – ensure that their required inputs are planned into the
process at the right time
• Focus on making sure that Furniture, Fittings and Equipment
are properly coordinated into the design – not enough
attention is paid to this – needs to be done at early stage
• Room Data Sheets and Fully Loaded Drawings prepared at an
early stage will facilitate proper coordination of requirements

17. Good Quality Design and Execution
Initial Development of Furniture
Visualisations Can Help
Stakeholders have a fuller Plans to Coordinate
Requirements of Stakeholders -
understanding of how a space
ICT, Education, FFE and Design
will function and look – this can
Team
help to ensure that the design is
appropriate for the need and
avoid late changes in the design
and construction process

18. Good Quality Design and Execution
3D Renderings of Proposed FFE in Relation to Room Can Provide an
Understanding for Stakeholders that 2D Drawings Simply Cannot
Provide for Those Unfamiliar with Reading Drawings

19. Sustainability
• Use energy, water, and other resources efficiently
• Integrate renewable energy strategies, including passive solar
design and, where appropriate, solar thermal and photovoltaics
• Integrate high-performance mechanical and lighting systems
• Conserve and protect natural areas
• Incorporate materials and products derived from sustainable-
yield processes and/or are manufactured locally
• Provide opportunities for safe walking and bicycling to school

20. Sustainability
World Academy, Tianjin, China
Eco-City’s first School - aims to be
the most sustainable school in the
World - GBES silver certification
Eco-features - solar and
geothermal heated swimming
pool, solar PV panels
Energy Wall will display real time information of electricity
consumption of the school and renewable energy harnessed – eco
features integrated into curriculum