Purpose
built in 2007 at a cost of £5.8M, the building was designed
by architects, Fairhursts Design Group, to comply with the
highest environmental assessment rating from the Building Research
Establishment (BRE) for its design and construction elements.
The BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) is
one of
the world’s leading systems for assessing the range
of environmental
impacts associated with buildings. From the outset, the goal
was to achieve an ‘Excellent’ rating for its design, which
uses ‘A’ grade materials, energy efficiency measures, natural
light and renewable energy technologies.
Examples are:
| – |
The Photovoltaic panels installed to generate
electricity from sunlight |
| – |
Ground-source heat pumps that heat the building using
minimal energy. |
| – |
A rainwater recovery system is used to reduce demands
on mains water supply. |
| – |
A combined heat and power plant increases the efficiency
of the use of fossil fuels for heating and hot water. |
| – |
The landscaped site uses native trees, shrubs and grass
mixture, to provide a positive environment for both people
and local wildlife. |
_ECW Information about energy and water
_ECW Information about sustainable management
_ECW Information about design and materials
ECW banner - greening (English) (pdf 968kb)
ECW banner - greening (Welsh) (pdf 968kb) |
