Sustainability Case study
Green
T
he Margam Discovery Environmental Centre
aims to showcase renewable energy in action.
It combines sustainable performance with the
educational role of informing visitors about low-
carbon design.
The council’s vision for the Discovery Centre – which is
due to open this month at Margam Park in South Wales
discoveries
and operated by the Field Studies Council – is to support
the wider community and educational activities within the
park. It includes an environmentally-sustainable visitor
centre and sustainable energy showcase centre.
The Discovery Centre comprises single-storey
One of the best ways to show how a building
accommodation which includes teaching labs, WCs,
kitchen, refectory and reception, plus a two-storey
is environmentally friendly is to use the
residential block. Most of the single-storey accommodation
technology involved as a teaching aid.
is supported off the ground on stilts.
The residential area is made up of a two-storey
A notable example of this is a new local
accommodation block with 34 en-suite bedrooms, with
authority discovery centre in South Wales,
facilities for disabled people and those with special needs.
The building also houses an area for the public including
writes Paul Haddlesey
a reception, public toilets and changing facilities.
Enhancing the centre’s educational role, many of the
building services have been made highly visible with
graphical displays of energy consumption and savings.
“The timber framed building is a flagship development
which had sustainability as a guiding theme from its very
inception,” says senior mechanical engineer Sarah Gealy,
of consultancy Faber Maunsell | AECOM.
“The development is a highly visible symbol of
recognition in Wales and illustrates how sustainability can
play a key role in the future development of all buildings.
As such, it is a working example of how inspired design
and quality of construction can deliver exceptional value
and sustainability.”
Off-site build
For maximum efficiency and to minimise environmental
impact, the timber-framed building has been largely
constructed off site, using timber from sustainable sources
and prefabricated modules being assembled on site.
To minimise heat loss and the need for mechanical
services, the building has been insulated to standards
in excess of Building Regulations requirements.
The external walls have a design u-value of 0.23 W/m
2
K,
while the roofs and floors have design u-values below
0.15 W/m
2
K.
Space heating in the teaching block is provided by
an underfloor heating system served by a 150kW wood
pellet biomass boiler, which also serves radiators in the
accommodation block. As there is considerable fluctuation
in occupancy levels of the residential accommodation,
M the space heating in these rooms is controlled in relation
O
E
C
A
to occupancy while maintaining frost protection when
e
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rooms are unoccupied.
a
u
n
s
r
M The boiler is designed to meet 50 per cent of peak
f
F
a
b
e
heating loads and is expected to meet all heating
requirements through most of the year, using locally
sourced wood pellets derived from wood waste. Wood
e
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c
o
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r
t
e
s
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o
pellets for the biomass boiler are stored in a high capacity
l
l
p
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r
A external silo to minimise frequency of deliveries and
42 CIBSE Journal April 2009
www.cibsejournal.com
CIBSEapr09 pp42-43 centre.indd 42 2/4/09 15:01:32
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