Yesterday I gave a presentation on the sustainability stage at the Education Estates Conference. I spoke about using retrofit in relation to school design; both its role in creating resilient school estates, as well as it playing a vital part of reducing carbon emissions and energy use.

My talk used the case study of Elizabeth College in Guernsey to cover the practical challenges, significant benefits and lessons learnt in repurposing a non-academic building (on a small island) to create exemplar spaces for a school. Perrot Court was an office building which is undergoing substantial retrofit to enable significant enhancement and extension of the school’s facilities. Three key themes of link, light and longevity lead to this project’s environmental and functional sustainability.

By retaining most of the existing building fabric and carefully considered, forensic intervention the majority of embodied carbon typically associated with demolition and new build is avoided. This building is being completely transformed into a modern space for teaching and learning.

Thank you to Education Estates for having me!