BUILDING PERFORMANCE
New Build of the Year (Value Above £5m) The Hive, Worcester, England
Sponsored by:
The challenge A private fi nance initiative (PFI) competition was opened in 2007 to create the UK’s fi rst fully integrated public and university library, part of a groundbreaking partnership between Worcestershire County Council and the University of Worcester. The design brief required a 50% reduction in carbon emissions on the 2006 Part L Building Regulations, and stipulated natural ventilation be used in as much of the building as possible. In addition, the archive store needed to meet the strict requirements of BS5454 to obtain National Archives Certifi cation.
The response To help meet environmental criteria, a passive design approach was taken, which involved using daylight, natural ventilation and the building fabric for conditioning. This has helped reduce base loads, particularly electrical and lighting loads, as there was little opportunity for generating electricity on site. Use of biomass heating and river cooling
are an essential element of the overall building design. The heating load is met by a 550 kW biomass boiler fed from local
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woodchip. Meanwhile, cooling is delivered to the majority of spaces from pipework embedded in the concrete. In addition, a rainwater harvesting tank collects water from the roof and serves both the WCs and archaeology department for washing archaeological fi nds. Materials were responsibly sourced wherever possible. The acoustic strategy was developed to
provide different learning environments across the building, and acoustic absorption was provided local to noise sources and around balustrades.
The results The Hive offi cially opened in July 2012. It achieved a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating of 86.4% at the fi nal post construction review stage – the fi rst building of this kind in the country to do so and the highest score ever for a public library. It achieved 100% of the available credits in management, water, waste and land use and ecology sections. The distinctive roof cones are not only reminiscent of the nearby Malvern Hills, but are also a key element of the building’s operating strategy. They deliver daylight deep into the inside of the building and also help to extract warm air.
It is rewarding for the efforts of the whole team to be recognised for delivering such a challenging client brief
EPC
Building Emissions Rate Airtightness
Average daylight factor
Biomass boiler Gas boiler
A rating /yr
17.4 kg CO2/m2 4.3 m3 /m² façade at 50 Pa
3% (across the main library fl oor-plate)
One (550 kW) Three (250 kW)
March 2013 CIBSE Journal
37
2013 Winner
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