National Grid Training Centres Hollinwood and Hitchin

National Grid appointed Glancy Nicholls Architects to design their new flagship training centres which will promote a new generation of recruits to the gas industry. The project included designing and delivering training sites in both Greater Manchester at Hollinwood and in Hertfordshire at a site near Hitchin. These state-of-the-art centres specialise in practical, ‘hands-on’ training, recreating the real-life situations faced by National Grid’s workforce.

The centres have been designed to allow them to be used flexibly. These quality spaces provide a high standard of educational and active environments for all users. The accommodation within each building is separated by function, including open bays where practical training exercises are simulated in controlled conditions. The buildings also incorporate formal and informal teaching classroom spaces with flexible partitions to accommodate larger student numbers if required.

A significant focus of these projects was to use renewable energy sources where possible to create a sustainable development. This centred on heating, cooling, and reducing the schemes’ carbon footprint.