The design of the largest special needs facility in the UK. Project value £12m.

The campus includes a specialist centre for epilepsy and provision for all disability levels. In addition to teaching areas, a sports and recreational centre together with large hydrotherapy swimming pool is included. The facility is designed to operate in a sustainable manner, achieving low life cycle costings whilst minimizing energy consumption and CO₂ emissions.

Sustainable Design

The project was designed using mass structure principles to facilitate passive solutions, maintaining comfortable internal conditions throughout the year. The facility was subjected to a detailed analysis including thermal, solar and predominant external air movement during the pre-planning submission stage. This informed the architecture of the required orientation to maximise natural day lighting.

The building is predominantly naturally ventilated through passive systems including automated night and stack ventilation.

Building Analysis

During the concept stage of the architectural design and site planning, thermal analysis and computerised fluid dynamics confirmed the natural building form, fabric and passive controls necessary to maintain a comfortable internal environment. Option appraisal using dynamic computerised models closely relates the building performances against the project development.