The Earl of Wessex officially opened Devon County Council and Exeter College’s new world class outdoor education & training centre in Exeter in July 2013.
Set within Exeter’s quayside surrounded by Listed structures in a Conservation Area, the project has provided the following facilities which supplement the existing outdoor activity centre on the canal basin:
- 23m high climbing tower accessed by a spiral staircase
- Indoor rock form caving system
- 7m high rock faced climbing walls
- Facilities for kayaking & canoeing
- Changing facilities for 120 students
- 5 changing rooms
- Wet meeting room
- 45m long pontoon fronting the canal
- Dedicated service yard
- New granite paved public open space & upgraded canal side public footpath
CASE Consultants were commissioned by Devon County Council and NPS (South West) Ltd to act as Civil & Structural engineering consultants for the project. The buildings typically comprise of multi storey steel frame structures supported on piled foundation, which provide flexible large open plan areas which could be constructed practically, despite the presence of a high ground water table.
Concrete anchor blocks from the adjacent quay and canal sheet piled walls were encountered on site during the construction works and this, together with the constraints of the narrow site, presented challenges that had to be overcome in order to successfully complete this prestigious project.
- Contract value £5.6m
