Mulberry Academy London Dock 

Mulberry Academy London Dock (MALD) is a state-of-the-art secondary school in Wapping, marking the first new secondary school in LB Tower Hamlets in 20 years. Operated by the Mulberry Schools Trust, MALD provides a high-quality learning environment for 1,150 students, including a sixth form.

A Flagship Passivhaus School
Designed to mitigate inner-city pollution from the adjacent A1203, MALD is a pioneering Passivhaus building, achieving multiple UK ‘firsts’:

* London’s first Passivhaus academy

* UK’s largest and most complex Passivhaus education project

* First UK double-basement and piled Passivhaus project

The school exceeded Passivhaus airtightness standards, achieving an n50 value of 0.2 against a target of 0.6—a testament to exceptional build quality. Innovations included plastic nails for floor insulation and heated wire cutters for millimeter-precision groundwork.

Sustainability & Green Spaces
MALD integrates extensive green spaces with 250 tonnes of soil craned onto five rooftops to create vibrant, planted areas. These green spaces enhance biodiversity, air quality, and student well-being.

Adaptable & Future-Proof Design
The project successfully navigated major design changes, ensuring compliance with DfE funding requirements, post-Grenfell fire safety regulations, and economic challenges like hyperinflation. Key adaptations included switching from a district heating system to air-source heat pumps, increasing the school’s sustainability.

A Model for Future Schools
Mulberry Academy London Dock is more than a school—it’s a blueprint for sustainable, high-performance educational buildings. By combining innovation, resilience, and environmental responsibility, it sets a new standard for the future of urban education.

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Credited Organisations: Mulberry Schools Trust, Potter Raper, Architype, Briggs & Forrester Engineering Services Ltd, Walsh, and ETUDE