About the Project

Sunningdale SEND School, Sunderland

Construction of special educational needs school, completed in 68 weeks.

Following his completion for the same client of a specialist school, along with his extensive knowledge from other education projects, Darran Snarr was perfectly placed for this one.

His understanding of the requirement and his proactive leadership were crucial to success. He eased the budget pressures by using drones to scan the site, remodelling the extensive cut and fill accordingly and keeping all excavated materials on site for bunds.

With the handover date unmoveable and significant material shortages leaving the proposed roofing deck unsuppliable, Darran found a budget-satisfying programme solution in a readily available thinner deck supported by additional steelwork.

Most impressively of all, he made crucial interventions to ensure that the key facilities – hoists running the length of the school to move children around it, a sensory room and hydrotherapy pool – were on point.

Darran incorporated extra secondary steel into the primary steel package to save time and money on the hefty hoist installation. He engaged with supply chain partners to develop a fast and affordable turnkey solution for the sensory rooms. And instead of using concrete for the hydrotherapy pool – with its potentially time-consuming regime of filling, testing and tiling – he championed a fast-track stainless steel alternative that was lifted in as the steelwork went up.