A HARROW college has opened its new hi-tech sports centre complete with living roof and walls.

The Siena Building, at St Dominic's Sixth Form College, is decked out with thousands of living plants and has a roof made of sedum – a material which gathers water and feeds it to the plants.

Steve Cook, managing director of Jarvis Contracting, which built the new sports hall, said it will be able to control the temperature inside, reducing energy consumption, and protect the building itself from adverse weather damage.

The building was formally opened at the college, in Mount Park Avenue, by Archbishop Vincent Nichols on Thursday, July 15, with pleased pupils and teachers watching on.

Patrick Harty, principal of the college, said: “Our college is very environmentally aware, and at the outset we asked Jarvis to create a state-of-the-art sports facility with a range of sustainable features including solar panels, rainwater irrigation, a green wall and living roof.

“We are all delighted with our new building.”