Norland College - Bath

Excelling in childcare training since 1892

The Project

First established by Emily ward in 1892, Norland College has become world leader in childcare training centred around the child. Having moved to various locations in the past, the College is now based in Bath. Along with its location, the curriculum at Norland has changed and progressed with the times to offer the most up to date academic childcare training courses and the highest practice standards in line with the latest research.


The Approach

Oculus was appointed in the summer of 2014 to oversee the expansion of Norland into a new location in the Oldfield Park area of Bath. The new site houses a sundry of amenities, including state of the art lecture rooms, a simulated nursery area, and purpose built on-site kitchens to name a few.  Working alongside the Nick Shipp Architects, Oculus were able to assist the team to optimise the fire safety requirements to make best use of the single staircase layout having regard to the clients aspirations for occupancy levels.


 

 

CASE STUDY
Astley Castle

A 12th-century fortified manor which had been lying in ruins since a fire in 1978, Astley Castle had seen additions and revisions carried out in almost every century since Medieval times. Throughout its history the site has been owned by no less than three Queens of England.

The Landmark Trust boldly set out to reinstate occupancy of Astley Castle in a manner appropriate for the 21st century.  After careful recording, those parts of the building beyond pragmatic repair were taken down.  By inserting a groundbreaking modern holiday home into the shell of the ancient castle, the architects, Witherford Watson Mann, were able to both stabilise the ruin and create the next layer of the building’s history.  The results showcase how modern architecture can be unashamedly but sympathetically stitched into ancient fabric to significant effect.

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CASE STUDY
Airbus - AWIC

The £40m facility will enable Airbus to perform structural tests on aircraft materials, components and large assemblies, including complete wings. The strong floor will support a 220-tonne, 10m-high steel wall where structural tests specimens will be attached to allow testing to take place.

The pour itself lasted a continuous 23-hour period, one hour under the scheduled 24. It required a lorry load of specially prepared concrete to arrive every six minutes to provide a constant supply to the pour and avoid any inconsistencies in the concrete.

A total of 1,440 cubic metres was poured into the floor, which measures 40m by 18m, to a total depth of two metres. The steel reinforcement amounted to a total of approximately 280 tonnes of rebar, estimated to be around 54 km laid end-to-end.

The AWIC facility is supported by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Innovate UK.

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CASE STUDY
Tyntesfield

Tyntesfield is a spectacular Victorian Gothic Revival house with gardens, parkland and much more.  It had been the house of the Gibbs family for over 150 years. As the house was inherited by each generation of the Gibbs family, they stamped their own identity on the house and estate with different developments. The 14th June 2002 marked a new beginning for the house and estate when the National Trust announced their new acquisition.  The house was in need of extensive renovation and The National Trust set about re-roofing, re-wiring and re-plumbing the main house and generally improving access for visitor experience. 

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