Buildings Iconic
Excellence embodied
start,” says project director Chris Lynn (below, left). integrating the units into the building fabric in order to
“On some projects the BREEAM assessor can be rather maintain the high quality chic designs of the roof and
We took
passive with a tendency not to get too involved in some west elevation façade of the building. Biomass fuel was
of the key design decision-making. also considered – but discounted due to concerns over
the BREEAM
“We took a very different view and involved our in- the reliability of a local fuel supply.
issue on
house sustainability consultants from day one. They “There are some projects where clients wish to
board right
were instrumental in influencing the conceptual include renewables as a visual token gesture even
thinking of the design team and held workshops to though they may bring very little real practical added
from the start
communicate the key elements for consideration. In value,” explains Lynn. “In contrast, the university took
and involved
this way sustainability was always a high agenda item a very honest view and was adamant that renewables
our in-house
and integral to every design decision.” should only be included if they offered real added value
There was also an aspiration to exceed the and benefits to the project.
sustainability
requirements of the current Building Regulations Part “The simplicity and effectiveness of the integrated
consultants
L by at least 10 per cent. In the event, the design has design solutions negated the need for renewables.
from day one.
achieved a 14.5 per cent improvement on Part L through However, the design does include some provision for
simplicity of design and avoiding the need for renewable future retrofitting of renewables, if required.”
They were
energy sources to meet the targets. A further limitation was the wedge-shaped site for
instrumental
The decision about renewables was only taken after the campus, which restricted the building orientation
in influencing
Faber Maunsell undertook a detailed feasibility study. options. To address this issue Faber Maunsell carried out
For example, use of ground source heat pumps was many iterations of dynamic thermal analysis modelling,
the conceptual
considered, but there was a danger of causing damage using real weather data to model the temperature
thinking of
to existing underground ties running from the river’s profiles of all internal spaces. The company then worked
the design
retaining bank wall. Similarly, solar thermal heating closely with architects Building Design Partnership
was not deemed appropriate, due to the high cost of (BDP) to arrive at a design that would achieve the right >
www.cibsejournal.com February 2009 CIBSE Journal 47
CIBSEfeb09pp46-50 newport•.indd 47 5/2/09 14:22:11
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