building for education project report
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The building overturns some preconceptions associated with Passivhaus design, such as having uneven distribution of windows
indoor temperature. A total of 1.6 km of earth tubes snake through the ground
directly beneath the building, at depths of three to six metres, requiring a small feat of civil engineering to coordinate and install them around piles, and other below ground services, such as drainage, cabling and ductwork. The tubes rise up from the ground through non-structural columns in the white colonnade to feed air into the building. Extra cooling is provided in the ground and first floor
spaces, with higher occupancy, using a form of thermally activated building structure. Chilled water is passed through pipework embedded 50 mm into the exposed concrete ceiling soffits to enable cooling across the entire slab and so reduce peak temperature loads. In addition, the exposed concrete frame provides thermal mass to help regulate peaks and troughs in temperature. The building overturns some preconceptions associated
with Passivhaus design. The orthodox drive to orientate windows to face south, with fewer or smaller openings facing north, east and west, to avoid excessive solar gain and energy loss, was rejected in favour of a more evenly distributed openings. “The client did not want to have one professor with great
views and a large window and another with a small window and a dingy outlook,” says Chadwick. “It is easier, on a larger project, to compensate with improved performance
‘The design is inspired by other buildings on the campus, such as the world famous Engineering Building’
elsewhere, for example, via better performing insulation. On a smaller project every individual element can make a more significant impact on the overall end result – it is all to do with the proportion of the change relative to the overall scheme.” Another commonly held belief, that Passivhaus buildings
should not include openable windows, due to the impact on airtightness and thermal efficiency, was rejected. The Centre features 100 per cent fixed glazing, but every office has an openable window vent, located behind an external louvre panel, designed to allow in fresh air in a more controlled fashion.
Best in class
The Centre for Medicine’s Passivhaus assessment was carried out by Plymouth-based energy consultants WARM, who suggested alternative solutions during design, then independently verified the design and carried out regular independent on-site inspections. Certification helped the project achieve a ‘19’ energy
BUILDING PROJECTS
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