Pudsey Sixth Form College, Leeds
Project Overview
Pudsey Sixth Form College is a new-build further education facility in Leeds, developed by Luminate Education Group to expand local sixth form provision and create a modern learning environment for up to 600 students.
The £11.4 million development includes a 1,611m2 roof designed to accommodate rooftop solar PV panels and air source heat pumps. For the roofing package, IKO worked with BriggsAmasco Ltd on a specification suited to the building’s exposed location, large uninterrupted roof plane, and long-term maintenance requirements.
What looked like a straightforward single ply roof on paper quickly became more involved once site-specific wind uplift requirements, rooftop plant, and winter working conditions were taken into account.
Challenges
The design called for a large continuous roof area, which created demanding wind uplift requirements across the field, perimeter, and corner zones. The waterproofing package also had to integrate with rooftop plant and service penetrations while maintaining the thermal and vapour control performance required for the build-up.
The original fully adhered specification was reviewed once project-specific wind uplift calculations had been completed. Those calculations showed that the roof would need a more responsive fixing strategy in key areas, particularly given the exposed nature of the site and the size of the roof plane.
Installation through the winter months added another challenge. Overnight ice affected safe access and threatened to slow progress, so the roofing works needed to be carefully managed to keep the programme moving without compromising safety or workmanship.
Solution
Following a technical review by BriggsAmasco Ltd and IKO, the roof was changed to an IKO Armourplan P mechanically fixed single ply waterproofing system in slate grey. This gave the team greater flexibility to refine the fixing arrangement in line with the calculated wind uplift requirements and provided a more suitable response to the site conditions and roof geometry.
The roof was installed over 140mm IKO enertherm GOLD insulation with an IKO Spectravap vapour control layer, using IKOfix thermally broken insulation and membrane tubes together with IKOfix universal fasteners to address the loading requirements in the perimeter and corner zones.
Early coordination between IKO, BriggsAmasco Ltd, and the wider project team helped resolve details before installation began, while regular site support and documented quality checks maintained consistency throughout the works.
BriggsAmasco Ltd also introduced a practical method for clearing overnight ice so work could continue safely during winter conditions. The completed installation delivered a waterproofing solution aligned to the building’s performance requirements while accommodating rooftop renewable energy and safe future maintenance access.
Project name and location:
Pudsey Sixth Form College, Leeds
Main IKO system:
IKO Armourplan P mechanically fixed single ply (PVC) roofing and waterproofing system
Roof area:
1,611m2
Project sector:
Education
IKO Guarantee:
25-year Single Point Guarantee
Contractors:
Caddick Construction (Main)
BriggsAmasco Ltd (Installing)