The extension of primary 3 form to 7 form entry including reception, nursery, general hall facilities and the refurbishment of the existing Victorian school. Project value £1.3m.

Sustainable Design

The building is designed to be predominantly naturally ventilated. A general purpose hall is passively cooled via a ground coupled ventilation system maintaining comfort for 750 occupants.

A detailed thermal analysis informs the client and design team of the need for passive control of Solar Gain and ventilation systems. Solar control is provided in the form of photo-voltaic shades incorporated onto the south facing facade.

Building Analysis

During the concept stage of the Architectural design, thermal analysis and computerised fluid dynamics confirmed the natural building form, fabric and passive controls necessary to maintain a comfortable internal environment. Each option was developed in the thermal model, and the results graphically compared with BB87 comfort criteria. This enabled decisions relating to building form and orientation to be made prior to planning submission. A detailed daylighting analysis was completed confirming average daylight levels prior to submission for planning.

General purpose halls have periods of high occupation. Under these circumstances, it is important comfort is maintained for occupants. The educational environmental standard is clear relating to comfort criteria. In order to comply without the use of expensive additional cooling plant innovation is needed. A ground coupled cooling system was developed incorporating standard concrete pipes buried within the ground.

A system using ground energy pre-cools air prior to entering the hall. In this manner the hall is maintained within a comfortable condition. During the winter ground energy stored during the heating months is used to pre-warm air prior to heating.