1Albany Senior High School is a very different kind of school. With no fixed teaching spaces, flexible class scheduling and students spending a whole day contributing to community causes during the week, Albany Senior High is aiming to help students make the transition into higher education more easily. The school was designed to be open plan, to offer flexible spaces as well as the traditional assembly auditorium and gymnasium.

2The project had a very tight deadline – a 16 month construction programme to deliver 20,000m² of building. The time pressure of the project required a very close collaboration between project contributors – Holmes Consulting Group worked in strong partnership with the architect, builder, services consultant and the other members of the design team to get everything completed to the high standards the school required. Our engineers were key in delivering on the bold architectural concept, with an exposed structure with no suspended ceiling. We worked hard to create a robust, resilient structure that achieved the aesthetic demands, supporting the vision for this new kind of school.