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    Detail Green English 2011-02 PDF

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    NOVEMBER - £11.50 -US$23:€17 English Edition DETAIL Sustainability in the desert The window of the future Air-conditioning systems: a comparison 02/11 DETAILGreen 02/11 DETAIL Special Edition 66266 ISSN 1868-3843 4 Magazine Passiuhaus takes hold in Bitain L 2 Lite cycle analysis ot buildings Jakob Schoof Projects, Publications events 2 Background Suslainabilty in the desext Karim Elgendy Sustainable architecture Towards.the sun Residential building in Pressbaum. Hein=Troy Architekten, Bregenz/Vienna. Jac iden Office building in Badautl arghitestuWERKSTATT Bruno Moser. Breitenbach. Living in a laboratory 4) Research and practice Air-conditioning systems: a. comparison. BernhadLenz he window of the futur Interview with Manual Deel, Nor Patti 5 Producis.and matariale 6 Specialist information The ctive forlaw energy refurbishment ‘Andrew Peel, Editorial and oublishing data/photo credits www.detail.de/english Publishes aid cara! deparurert: ns ators Seearmen Grian Sehien(ecrar incre) waka Scrao! Erall castorate tohane: +49 8938 1820 Adverising e-mal qfaegenglsialce telephone: +48 89%8 1820-8 Desrbuton & suosctptns: ral Uk corspendon: ker Lowen Translators. sine lodau-Konck,Feargal Dole, Gean McLaughin, Ingrid Tyr Engst pronteadng: Anna Roos labogvervisbsunion de; ieleprone +498) 230298-211 10 16 22 44 70 74 6 2 fr ematorale Nehitekour-Cokumeration GmbH & Co.KG, Hackertrccke 6, 8C035 Munich, Germany, DETANG:e 201102 The entire world seens to be wrangling over money at the monent. This is hardly surprising given that Europe’s state coffers will tend to have Jess and less in then in the future. It would be illusory to believe that the pressure to impose cuts in public budgets will have no effect on climate-change policy; too many technologies and projects continue to depend on public funding, in spite of their long-term necessity. Up until now, even those with otherwise complete ly opposing interests have been united in their call for state funds. In future, this call is Tikely to fall on deaf ears with increasing fre- quency. Does this mean that aspects relating to design are being completely ignored? And how will our acceptance of the need to protect the climate be affected if such protection becomes more ex- pensive for us? Even now, sociologists are pre- Gicting that the willingness to contribute to- wards incisive measures is more liable to de- crease than increase. At the same time, the suspicion that we have not even started to make substantial savings cannot. be denied. Anong politicians, heads of industry and the public, the development of renewable forms of energy - not to mention their own set of claims - is considerably more popular than an in- crease in energy efficiency. “Anything but having to cut back!” is the unanimous cry of the leading thinkers in the sustainability debate.In the long term, however, it is possible that we will be un- able’ to avoid’ the question “How much is enough?”. Otherwise, the increasing amount of living space per inhabitant and the ongoing consumption of land by our housing estates will make all efforts to achieve greater efficiency appear absurd. Lifestyles that are sufficient to needs must arise from the conviction of the individual ~ and are already doing so: more and more employees are doing without higher salaries in favour of nore free time or are giving preference to a balanced family life over mobility in their profession. Time, education and social intercourse belong to those resources, whose utilisation does not bring about any negative effects on the environment. What's more, they are more sought after than ever before today. Architecture could help to support these 1ife- styles, especially in times of economic crisis. Where are the residential buildings that equally enable withdrawal and social interaction in a small area; where are the city districts that al- ow mixed uses and thus, from the onset, avert the issue of mobility; and where are the rooms that remain comfortable even at an indoor temper- ature of 19 degrees? Doing without the superflu- ous has nothing to do with self-denial but can very well accompany a rise in the quality of Vife. At the moment, this insight may be unpopu- Jar but the situation could change faster than we might think possible today. Jakob Schoo 2/102 DETAMGiecn Passivhaus takes hold in Britain ol Lowenstein (On a warm October day last year. Chris Huhne, the new coalition govamment’s Energy and Environment Minister, strode ppurposelully towards the lactern to glve a keynote speech in North Landon’s Ising: ‘on town hall, The hall was packed, and ‘those attending the evert, the frst Pas: sivhaus conference in Eitain, waited 10 hear what the minister had to say. Later bis words were analysed and deciphered {or clues to ‘the greenest Government ‘ever’ commitment to decarbonising the county's building stock. A key line 18- {erred to the event as “a watershed mo: ‘ment, in which he would “Ike to see ‘every new home" reach the Passivhaus standard. Ithad been quite a joumey for the continental Passivhaus apprcach to building, which just three and a halt years before hardly anyone in Britain had heard of, (One year after the Passivnaus conference last year, what high hopes were held for the Government's commitment to decar bonis Britain's entire residential building stock have been fading by the month. Yet alongside this, with regard to strategies {or realising zero energy bulldings, the momentum ot intarast and practical take: up, whether in irining or actual live- projects, in the Passivhaus approach in the UK has been burgeoning. As with the Us take-up of massive cross laminated timber | wrote about inthe last Issue of Detall Green, this is once again a story of research, techniques, tachnologies and building expartse that have been devel oped abroad and, after 2 considerable time-lag, have begun to migrate to Britain, Different professionals have been in- volved, though also a very similar cultural dynamic, involving small networks of ‘commited sustainable builders and ar cohitects, breaichrough moments and in- creasing acceptance, This was followed by curiosity, interest and take-up by the mainstream. What is markedly diferent is how recent the take-off has been, and in terms of certified Passivhaus buildings how ~ stil comparatively few there are. Germany has passed its 10,000th Pas- sivhaus building, even ifno-one seems to know how many are certified. Here, in Britain they can be countad in a few handfuls and even with the current wave, of excitement, tis dificult to really ervi sien the numbers catching up with the levels of central mainland Europe. A Passivhaus pretistory ‘At the heart of those campaigning for ‘the Passivhaus standard in England has been a sustainable building network, the relatively small Association cf Environ mentally Gonscious Builders (ECE), ‘ounded in 1989. Though often described aa ‘grassroots’ organisation, the AEE, includes members with a high level ot specialist knowledge, skills and exper ence, albeit at odes with the prevailing UK architectural orthodoxy of the time, vwihere sustainability wasn't an issue worth thining about. One of these forerunners is David Olivier, who, through the eighties and nineties, acted as an independent consulta, conducting research which, although immensely detailed, did not re- ceive the attention it merited from the mainstream, including Government re- search centres such as the Building Re- search Establishment (BRE). Through the rineties, Olivia's work found an audience among the 1500 or so mambers of AECE, a substantial part of whorn were archi tects and others working olosely with ar chitects. This said, BRE started up a Pas- sivhaus Unit in 2004, lad by Gareth Hodg- son, with the explicit intent of bringing its principles to the wider building sector. ‘The unit has grown into the influential Passivhaus UK body, disseminating infor- mation and running certification courses to tho mainsveam. It was only, however, in the around 2005 that Passivhaus really began to gain vider attention. Andy Simmonds, partner cf the arcnitectural practice Simmonds Mills, (and also AECE's current part time CEO), recalls that through 2008, this had coalesced into “three identtiable group- ings: the AECB, BRE's Passivnaus Unit, and a small number of pioneer architects, including John Williamson, a west Wales architact, and the Londonbased, Justin Bare.” Within two years, after following differen, iat times intertwined, Passiv haus paths, together these groups would effectively Springboard the launch ot Passivhaus in England, DETANG:e 201102 Already, in around 2008/4, the AECB be- gan receiving requests from its members for guidance concerring low eneray building design and construction. The re ‘sult was a set of energy standards, Sub. ‘sequent ciscussions with BRE and the Energy Saving Trust (EST) to look at har menising energy standards through 2008 ‘and 2007, the AECB launched Caren Lite, a majer earbon literacy programme based around the AECB standards, led by Simmonds and Liz Reason, an eneray markeling specialist working with AECE, ‘Simmonds, converted to the Passivhaus approach, in his architectural capacity began to look at how he could apply what he was leaming to firs, rafurbishing his ‘own home, and then, Disability Essex ‘a Centre tor Disability Studies through 2008/9. The later building passed Pas- sive certification last year. Simmonds and Olivier, together with 2 growing number of close AECB colleagues, used what they were learning from their avn projects to provide technical and design understand ing for those new to very low energy de- ‘sign. All this weuld fiter through into the AECB community and beyond in different ways. During this came period, architects John \Willamson and Justin Bere devolved their first Passivhaus designs ~ both sup. ported by BRE an Hodgson — with Wi llameon completing a residential dwelling and an Adult Community cantre tor Powys ‘County Council in Walas. These became the first UK Passivnaus Buildings to gain certification in 2009, Bere, who has had @ lte-long passion for low energy building, was only alerted to the existence of Pas: sivhaus when a German assistant, Tobias Schaffrin, pointed out how similar the detailing on Bere's 2005 Focus House project was to Passivhaus. Bare was ‘amazed to find literally huncreds of arch tects across Europe developing similar, though mere advanced, ainight buildings. he'd spent years aspiring to, He began integrating Passiv principles into his de- sign, and, in spring 2007, attended the European Passivhiaus conference held that year in one the epicentres of Pas sivhaus activism, Bregenz in Vorarlberg Tho visit for Bare was nothing short of an architectural revelation, discovering there ‘beautifully designed low energy bull Ings cl the sort that appealed to a design- led architect. Oliver Lowenstein runs the UK Green Cultural Review, Fourth Door Review (wis. foucthdoor.co.uk), and is a UK correspondent of Detail Green. Tamaces houses tor the 2010 Satan Housing spo, vernens Ga arches 2. Unda ue, The Cetsuoiss, Gloucester Seyoursinih achic's 9 TighNaCadach Duron Gokay Devoe! Another UK altendae, Nick Grant, who is closely connecied to sustainability pio- neers, Architype, had been unconvinced about Passivhaus prior to Bregenz but retumed with @ changed pecspective, “travelled to Bregenz with haifa mind at debunking 1, but came away pretty con vvinced. Part of it was seeing actual buil- ings, and the rationality of the process. | was impressed by how it was conceplu- ally sophisticated, though also very sim- ple and realised that actually there's ‘something in this.” Grant returned to Brit ain enthused, learning the Passivhaus In stitute's PHP computer modeling som vyare, and began showing others within Architype's west atfice, near Heretord, both how the programme worked and Underining the potential benefits. After 2 number offalse starts, the practice used this knowedae on two primary schools in Wolverhampton, Bushbury and Oak Meadow. Opened in October this year, they are Architype's frst built passive projects. Meanwtile in Scotland, xnovdedge about Passivhaus concept also began to circu- late, albeit through an entiely dierent route, Research visits to Norway and Sweden by Scottish architects in the early 2000's, including Gokay Daviei and Edin- burgh's Gaia Architects, nttcduced the Scots to the Nordic Passivhaus communi- ty, including one of its founders, Hans Eek. As the climate and geography of Scotland Is closer to Scandinavia than to southarn England, its hardly surprising ‘that a separate Scottish Passivhaus path has emerged, witn Devio's Tigh Na Cla- ach affordable housing in Dunoon on Scotlands east coast being the most sig- hificant project to have been realised so ‘ar. interestingly, Devici states that his in- tent was research focused. Frustrated in previous projects dus to the difference between the claims of different energy approaches and thelr actual results, he ‘wanted to see if Passiviniaus would work in practice. So far post-occupancy testing is showing very good results. 6 Pooshravetalee helen etal rear ire ter Dasbty uses, Essex ‘Srronds is A The centre becomes interested Itis apparent that those picking up on Passivhaus have not at frst bean metro ppoltan, London-based architects — AECB. is a predominantly West Country, West Midlands and Welsh congregated net work. twas only withthe linicin with Bare (as well as John Gatland af the Good Homes Trust) that interest in Passivhaus, both from architects and the media, be- ‘gan fo gain momentum in the capital By 2008 Bere had commited his new projects to Passivhaus standards, which, ‘along with lectures, warashops, and con: ‘erences, helped build momentum and raised Passivhaus's profile in London. The projects include 3 residential home locking net unlike a Verariberg building} ina leafy, afiuent part of North London, a North London community centre rebuild and finally a competition win to design {wo experimental houses in a large South Wales building programme on the edge (of ex-coal mining tov, Ebbw Vale, The lattor two, Larch and Lime house, have been designed specifically to affordable housing budgets, and withthe diferent South Wales climate in mind, Although all ct these early projects have required es: ‘tablished passive product companies ‘from across Europe, Ebbw Vale and South Wales are attempting to change this, with a few British companies begin- ring to manuiacture products. At Future Works, a group of Welsh joinery compa: niles have come together under the name, Company Precision Joinery, to produce a {first UK standardised Passivnaus window. The result has bean a frst wave of ganu: ine, accrecited Passivhaus projects across a broad aeoaraphical range, Bere's residential projects, as well as @ small umber of private hemes, including Un- derhill House by Helen Seymour Smith, Denby Dale house by ex-AECB chair and Green Building Store founder, Chis Her ring, and SimmondsMills’ Disability Essex ‘were all acereditad in 2010. The housing projects ought to be seen in the context Ct the British Government's 2006 an: | BA nouncement that every residential build ing, including existing stock, would ba legally required to attain zero carbon energy levels by 2016, precipitating the ‘AEGB's Carbon ite programme, and in 2009 the major government funded ‘Ret oft tor the Future’ research. This re search is now being concluded, and in- cludes practices that have committed to Passivhaus, researching how to refit a cross section of older, primarily urban housing typologies. Among them are ProwettBizley Architects, another young London practice. Rob Prevett notes that ‘many of these Retroft research project are informed by Passivnaus concerns and ideas, including cold-bridging, heavy insulation and walls, even if they were net technically, passi-projects. =< What the cites have to say ‘The passive rush, as 2 few have called it, has not been without eritics. Within the Belish sustainable building environ rant the most high profilo comes from BedZED's Bill Dunster, who in a 2010 Building Design magazine antcle com: ‘mented that, "1's not so clever to insist on expensive levels of air-tightness in the temperate south. But itis even stranger to demand electicity-hungry, fan-criven, heat-ventilation when passive techniques work fine. The UK has fo combine Medi- {erranean passive cooling techniques with the northern European need to con serve heat.” Chis Morgan, from Soot land's Locate Architects, a passiv-adve. ‘oate hoping to complete the first passive sel build, notes how some “tail to 806 the drawbacks’. Morgan also points cut how divisive the taxe up of Passivhaus has been in Britzin across the wider sustaina- ble architecture community, in this re ‘spect mimicking ts central European re- ception. Aesthetics, and the vexed ques- tion of how far Pacsivhaus allows archi toctural expression, Is given an ecological perspective by Mole Architects’ Meredith Bowles, in underlining haw Passivnaus's ccontinental development has cone so 2/102 DETAMGiecn vithin ‘part performance, part product” parameters. While Bere argues that Pas sivliaus is more process than produ, i is widely acknowledged that EU funding tor the early experimental Passivhaus, RAD vias partially premised on develop: ing such products." Bare feels vindicated in that passive isan approach, which ‘works: *What is clear is that the tests are showing the Passivhaus buildings built so {ar are pertceming ‘spoton.” ‘There seams to be consensus that the Passivhaus rush is set to continue for a vile yot. There may be dark muiterings 28 to where exactly tha Government's 23 ro carbon housing is heading, as well a5 concems at the lack at sills of UK build ers, and specialist contractors, and vihather they are up to delivering passive standard insulation, even if training pac ages are now emerging. Places on BRE PHPP taining courses for architects are also over-subseribed and last year's first UK Passivhaus conference avr both the ministerial keynote and the launch of the Passivhaus Trust, New Passivhaus projects regularly cop up In the Betish architectural media, 4Orm’s Arbark Park is the fst passive mult-cwelling for five households. The mainstream ara alse getting in on the act: two large-scale resi- dential Passivhaus schemes, a 28 dwel ing project in Houghton-le-Spring by Devereux, and b3 architects’ 68 housing development in Portland on the South coast. are nearing completion, while Rick Mather Architects have teamed up wath Architype for a housing block in London. While this isn't central Europe: there is ro regional municipality legislation that all public funded housing be to Passiv- standards, as in Vorarlberg, nora munick pality reauiring public buildings to attain similar standards, as on Frangiurt. Neither has there been ary sort of iconic passive latements, as in Arno Lederer's Ravan surg passv-museurn, But what is cortaln is that Possivnavs, although relatively ‘small in scale, has arrived in Britain, and Is set to stay, > ‘Schueco ProSol TF moves BIPV to 3 new level. For the first time, thanks to the combination of ‘advanced thin-film technology end Schueco aluminium facade systems, architects can combine unbeatable solar energy generation with complete design freedom. Available in large formats of up 10 2.6m x 2.2m, ProSol TF modules are suitable for both ventilated and non-ventilated fagades. ‘They can also be installed on flat roofs or supplied as a lean-to package for retro-fitting onto solid walls (such as industrial buildings) or ag lerge-louvre shading. I's @ perfect example of Schueco's Energy? - Systems for Saving and Generating Energy concept in action. wwww.schueco.co.uk. ENERGY 2/102 DETAMGiecn Embodied energy: All just dry theory? Life-cycle analysis of buildings Jakob Schoof In Europe, the aimis that buildings should vse less and lees anergy in the future. The clocks appear to go backwards in conly one respect: most concrete floor slabs teday are considerably thicker than 20 years ago, technical building systems fare becoming evar more complex anc) insulation seit 's becoming thicker and thicxer. The energy requited for their man- Uulacture is thus also increasing, The em bodied energy used for manufacturing, maintaining, repairing and disposal is be ‘coming an increasingly important factor in buildings. In the case of passive houses, ‘this can account for more than a third of the ‘otal primary energy that a building needs in the course of 80 years. In zero-energy buildings, only the embodied energy has anegalive effect on the eventual eneray balance. This posesnew questions about building planning. How can the use of en- ergy and resources be minimised as early as the construction phase? And what rei- able decision-making criteria are there for tha selection of eeological materials? More transparency dlie to EPDs? Nowadays, there exist so-called Enviren- ‘mental Product Declarations (EPDs) for an increasing number of building products They contain reliable intermation, compa rable throughout Europe, on the enviror- ‘mental characteristios of a product, This ‘mainly includes the eco-balance with de tails of he primary energy consumption and CO, emisions during manufacture ‘as wellas data relating to recyclabilty anc the velatile o-ganic compounds {VOCs} that the procuct may centain. However, ven) few architects today are capable of using EPDs and eco-balances in ther ‘everyday practice. Hardly any of them know the application of terms such as “eutrophication potential” or “ozone deple- tion potential" —not to mention baing able to correctly estimate the associated unt of measurement and orders of magnitude. Eco-halancing far architects: In practice, eco-balances currently only play a role in building certification, inter- nationally, the new standard, ISO 21931, creates a Framework forthe criteria and evaluation methods of building cetifica- tion, Hore, fe-eyle analysis plays a oan tral role. Even eystems such as LEED, in which eco-balances do not yet play a role, vill probably change their evaluation methods over time, Martin Zeumer, scientific associate of the Technical University of Darmstadt, who is active in the area of lte-cycle analysis, thinks thal eco-balances fer building cert fications will continua to be the domain of 2 fow experts in the future. However, sus: tainable building materials are in demand more and more atten, even in “everyday” projects. Especially in this regard, he says, the discussion ought to be placed ‘on an abjective ‘ccting with the help of eco-balancing. But, stresses Zeumer, we are not yet al this point: “Most architects slil keep to very general statements such a ‘building with wood is sustainable’ rath or than to scientifically grounded but ab, stact Key data from eco-balances.” From the planners point of view, there Is another disadvantage. Even if ne mean: ing of the results is understoed, they most ly do nat allow conclusions to be drawn abeut a construction's potential fo im- provement Inmost architectural offices, neither the knowledge nor the tools exist to integrate eco-balances in building planning. This particularly appliae to the inal planning phases becausa then is the tine when the most far-reaching decisions are usually made. Competitions also need to be up: ‘graded, Even if an eco-balance is stipulat- ed as part of the submission, it wil hardly ever play a cle when it comes to deciding between paricioants. Usually, there is a lack of qualified advance inspectors and jwors as wellas the necessary tools that ‘would allow the designs to be assessed appropriately. If, however, building re sourcefully is nota oriterion in compet tions, the participants will hardly pay much attertion to this aspect efther, thus reinforcing the status quo. Appropriate tools for architects? Databases and eco-balancing tools are already available today in (almest) any dearee of complexity. Some ~ such as the ‘SNARC method developed in Switzerland in 2004—make it possible to roughly as ‘8095 the embodied energy at an early stage in planning on the basis of building volume, typology and compactness. Other methods, in contrast, require detailed DETANG:e 201102 1 Goneree, rpsrteuar nace ltt energy 22 rranutacuret te meats even mare dag Vartagecus i ecrerets eulings ar tom don long bee send oor scrncal sence te 2-9 Bani ental Europe, PU modules Usa pay back heir mandoetuing energy ae aperoe rely tvee years Win regalo etal ale tn, eet ceretes pay fhe fastest ih aninulaon heSens of 20 cents tid more, conta, the amoteaion tne n fame of energy horeasoe rapid. nth ose, iVewoet ghig coreeraton'9 he embogee foeegy ot tferen Palting matte 49 wnat nao aea09 & moro susamasle? Th ‘quaston can any be arenes rafererce ean otal eulding lerredo andiho orbie ta eyes knowledge of the manufacturing process- ‘65 used for individual building produets in ‘order to arrive at a result. The most com men tools today allow successive refine: ment of the reeuits in the course of plan ring. Their calculations are mostly based Con average (ie. not manuiacturer spect ic) eco-balance data for building materials that can be found in databases such as Oxobau dat (Germany), baubook (Austia) cr ecoinvent (Switzerland). Moreover, an increasing number of databases that pro: vyide product information specifically for bulling certification are being created at present, For example, they provide details Cf what floor covering can generate points in whioh LEED criterion However, caution is o be recommended whatever data source is used. Firstly, data ‘rom different databases cannot readily be ‘compared with each other. Secondly, the whole is more than the eum of its parts in an eco-balance; most building elements ‘contain layers of material wih cifferent fe cycles. In the worst case, the entire ale ment has to be replaced as soon as the first layer ceases to perform ts function ~ vith correspondingly negative effects on ecorbalance values. In short, ecc-belancing is anything but trivial and the balancing methods and tools that exist are hardly known outside ‘specialist circles. At universities in parlicu- lar, tharafora, work is being continued on simple, but sufficiently precise, planning tools. Here, the question always arises as {o what influences and what components are really Gecisive for the eco-balance of ‘building and which ones can be ig- ered? Whereis embodied eneray hidden? Initial insights into issues, such as how the embodied energy of buildings can be minimised, already exist. The Swiss by ing physicist, Martin Lenalinger, wrltes: “Effects on the embodied energy of a building decrease (...] rapidly as the de tails of te project are made more precise, the reason being that the shape and size Cf the building are the most important influencing factors.” Ifthe building elements are considered in more detail, especially the shell of te building — which usually accounts for more than haf af the emibadied eneray is cf consequence. This is mainly dus to the cement content in conerete building ‘componerts, The cement industy, alone, ‘causes around 5% of worldwide green- house gas emissions. In the case of fa- ‘cados and other used suriaces, it isnot ‘so much the manufacturing energy as the maintenance, cleaning and repairs that make a difference. Low-maintanance, du- rable construction Is therefore essential for these building components. The compos- ite thermal insulation systems that are much eritcised by architects, in contrast, are problematic in terms of thei disposal but are hardly significant when consid: ‘ered over the entire lifetime of a building, What is not to be underestimated, howev- ¢r, is the influence of the technical bull: ing systems. Thair share in the total weight, Of the building is usually far below 8 % but = depending on the indicator that is con: sidered ~ account for up to 25% of the ‘enviconmental effects resulting trem man. utacture, repair and disposal. In ths re gard as well, the reascn is net enly the rel- alively shart lifetine of the technical sys- tems in buildings but also their high metal and plastic contant, co:balanoing as obigation? Widespread, overall use of eco-balances inarentecture is stil a long way ott. One ct the reasons is that a redluction of the embodied energy in buildings does not bring any noticeable benelits for he client unless he or she is stiving to obtain a sustainability certificate for his or her building. Less embodied energy leads rrelthor to a better interior climate nor to ‘greater user comton — in most cases, it Goes not even result in lower construction costs, The situation will probably not change Until the legislator grasps the intative, At ‘the least a limitation of embodied energy inbuidings would make economic sense. For highly energy-efficient buildings, i is often substantially cheaper to reduce the energy involved in construction of the building than to lower the consumption cf heating energy or electricity further. By 2020, according to the nev EU build ing directive, all new bulklings wll have to achiave the lowest energy standard ~ and ‘then such a ruling would be the next logi- cal step, 10 Prokes Local harvest University building in Sutton Bonington Nake Architects, London The University of Nottinghamr’s new Prant Sciences building is th first siage of a 20-year masterplan to expand te univer: sity’s Sutton Bonington Campus, to the ‘north of Loughborough. Housing a combi- ration of laboratories, serminar rooms and fice spaces, this 3,000 my, £5:million building brings together the university's ‘Scheol of Biosciences and the School ot Veterinary and Medical Sciences. The lent had chosen the desian by Make Architects for the high flexibilly it provided in accommodating the various uses within the building, forits high efficiency in the use of space (according to the architects, the floor plate efficiency is 80%), and par- ticular for its sustoinabilty credentals, “Localism” is a keyword to the design and cconstaiction of the Building. The majorty ct suppliers was chosen fom the regien. For the opaque parts of the facades, the architacts conceived a construction meth- (od that relies on locally harvested saw as (one of ts main materials. Strawbale con struction had been used as a structural walling solution in the UK betore but never ina construction of tis kind: not anty te ‘the new Biosciences School the largest strawbale building in the county to date, but tis also the frst where the bales were Used to insulate a curtain wall. Geb Leung, priner in Make Architects, explains the reasons for this choice of material: “The university has a farm and produces straw a8 a waste product soit seemed a shame ‘not to use it as pert of the building fabri. Iwas free, with excellent insulating prop: erties, and, as itis a plant sciences build ing, it seemed fitting considering what they do." ‘The decision to use straw as building ma- torial had to be made well before con: struction started, as straw is only harvest fed once a year. To turn it into a viable ‘construction material, Make “stacked” the stravibales into cross laminated timber frames, each ot whichis as wide as one stravibale and as high 4s the building it self. These long, slender elements hold eight to nine bales each (adding up to a total lenath of 14,5 metres), and weigh 2 tons when filed with straw. Weoden dividers were placed between the straw: bales to hold them in place after the ele ments were mounted in their final, vertical position. The facade elements achieve a U-value of 0,14 Wink. They were pretab- ricated in a “tying factory" that was tem- porary installad in the barn where tha straw had been stored, According to the architects, the medules allow a great deal of flexibility in the de- sign, as they can both be combined to form large opaque wall suriaces, and be positioned at intervals to allow daylight inte the building trough glazed, vertical alts between them. The north facade of the bullding was thus made far more transparent than the south facade, to limit solar gains while maintaining the coherent overall design of the building skin, ‘The elements are covered with a cementi- tious board and coated with moisture: permeable render on the outside, which \sill allow the straw to “breathe” and to ‘constantly keep the same dagrae of moisture as the exterior ar. According to Bob Leung, this is crucial o prevent the material rom rotting, To reduce tire ris non-flammable boards were chosen and 2/102 DETAMGiecn = 5 a tansparent fre resistant coating was applied tothe outside of tho elements, Behind the stravibale and glass facades, isa tree storey reinforced concrete con struction, wih load-bearing columns both immediately behind the facades and on either aie of a central corridor. Nen-struc ‘ural partion walls allow fora flexible lay- ‘out ofthe interior spaces Approximately 50% ofthe bulding con sists of offces, which are naturally vent lated through parallel opening windows located at high and lov levels, The re malning 60% of the spaces - mostly labo ratores and high eapacty teaching spac es are mechanically ventiated. A low NO, GHP unit provides the major part of the heating energy forthe bulting. This is enhanced by a low NO, gas fre boiler DETANG:e 201102 1970s revisited Refurbishment of a college building in Manchester Walker Simpson Architects, Manchester ‘The Fielden Campus of Manchester Col loge was opened in 1972 to offer adult ‘education courses across southern Man- ‘chester. From 2000 onwards, howevs the site gradually deteriorated unt its ‘owner, Gity College Manchester, merged vith MANCAT to form The Manchester College in 2008. Recognising the educa tional and ecological value of the site with its landscaped campus, the new principal conmissioned Walker Simpscn Architects to convert the buildings into a 21th ogntu- ry facilly for academic learning and voca- tional training Fioldan Campus consists of a six-storey ‘classroom block and a L-shaped wing ‘containing a learning resoures centre, re tectory and kitchen facilities, The current courses include creative media, facilities management, anda centre ct excellence for the blind. Werking kitchens are also part of the programme, mith an adjacent restaurant on the fifth floor to take advan- tage of tha panoramic views ofthe city surrounding the sits. At the intersection Cf the two wings, a new glazed reception replaces the dimiy It ariginal entrance, From here, a new “glass thread” snakes through the two-storey section of the building, connecting the social areas and providing them with daylight. The original building envelope was weath- er beaten with single glazing and uninsu- lated spandrel panels. It had, however, distinct aesthetic qualities that the archi- tects sought to preserve, namely the vis ble conorete framework of tha facades vith fs glass and brick infil. The archi tects, theretere, opted for internal linings rather than over-cladding wherever possi- ble. They introduced a new double- glazed, thermally-broken window system with insulated panelling to the spandrels and intermediate columns. Elsewhere, mortar and resin concrete repairs were carried out and left visible, as would be the case with stonework repairs. \With the double glazing and themal insu- lation, the new curtain walls achieve @ Usvalue of 0.35 Wire. Additional insula- tion was fitted internally to the end walls, as wellas an insulated inverted roof add- ‘ed to the existing roof. The roof of the Loarning Resource Centre, which is visi ble ftom the taachiing block, was replaced with a. secum roof Inthe interior of the building, greater visual coherence was achieved through drylining selected struc tural elements. According to the archi tects, "his device resclved the complex junctions cf pipework, internal partitions land new windows in éxisting apertures land, through its re-appearance in most ‘spaces, provides a unilying motif Due to the shallow flocr slabs of the build ing, passive natural ventilation was feast ble, Mechanical solutions remain restrict: ‘ed to the kitchen floors, and limited air ‘conditioning to servers. New gas con: densing boilers were installed, andl light ing was replaced with improved efficiency through control measures and low light- ing outputs per square metre. Overal, the refurbished campus row achieves a ‘8° rating according to the Energy Perform: ance Certificate, with an operational rating (0f 39 (equivalent to that of an average nev, building of the same type). The bull ing emiesion rate acceding to the EPC is 24.6 kg CO,/mva ‘Yer! facado section Seale 1:25 3 Carain ating, Summum rare wih bronze nodeed inch doucle-gazea, top tung opening igh win mochancalconwolo Geese bb Posertoardiing. 2 125m 2 Exesing beam for aces preoas: conoste 15 Extn cnc wal, sorersts bree 400 ry © ‘neuatedspardrsl aun panele woh benz shedsed tneh Uvatue 0 Worn 1 Gscking panel esting cote, lamar wth tranve snes eh Ua DEW 12 Propete Form follows sun Office building in Esslingen Stucheli Architekten, Zarich *A building as power station’ this was the guiding principle for the new office building of the enginooring attice Basler & Hoffmann in Esslingen near Zurich. Certi> fied acoording to Minergie-P-Eco, tho bullding is pan of a largar, new complex, ‘which Is to serve as the new centre for the: town vith fs 1600 inhabitants. Two ot the {our office tloces which cover a total at 2900 m? are used by the engineers them- ‘selves. The ground floor and the top floor are leased. SiUcheli Architekten designed the build- ing in two parts: a sclid concrete con- struction with an inner timber panel fa ‘cade and an oxterior, foldad bulking skin constructed entirely of glass and steel Whereas the shell of tne building, which is mostly exposed on the inside, acts es a heat accumulator, the outer skin provides. protection against solar radiation and OO led prey eta hamesses solar energy simultaneously Approximately 200 m? of PV modules on {he roof and facade, as well as a further 965 mr of thermal solar collectors on the roof make the building autonomous torms of heating and cooling energy Heating is provided by means of ground probes. These are not connected to a heat pump asis usually the case but directly to the heating circuit. The solar collectors (and the servers in the offices) deliver their heat directly into the ground via the probes, whereby the ground can reach temperatures of up to 26°C in sum- mer. This heat source is available for hhaating in winter. For cooling in summer, a separate, adiabatic recooler is used in forder to ensure that the thermal “loading” Of the ground is not interrupted. With their heating and cooling concept, Basler & Hoffmann have pioneered new 2/102 DETAMGiecn Secion, Seate 1900 territory. An unusually dense field of ‘ground probes (33 probes, 95 metres deep and only 2 metres apart from each cother), highly efficient convactors in the rooms, and an appropriate building de: sign were necessary. Whereas a thermal separation between the rooms was avaic ed as far as possible [even impact sound insulation could be dispensed with due to the unusually heavy ceilings), the enve- lope of the building achieves the passive house standard. The ventilation system is filled with a moisture recovery urit to pre- vent excessively dry air in winter. As an addtional motsture barrier, the architects finished the interior walls with clay plaster and clay construction panels. In ine with the stipulations of the Minergie-Eco cent cate, all concrete parts of the building (with the excaption ot pretabricated aie. ments) are made of recycled concrete, Cutting-edge architecture TE Wren UL WREST Uars) eeeg aol fold) DETAIL DETAIL Cols PNM oi "Now including two issues on sustainable planning and construction DETAIL is one of the worle's most influential architectural publications. DETAIL English aclion is published six imos per year since 2008 complemented by two adcitional DETAIL Green feeues in May and November. Architectural professionals benefit irom stimulating, upto-date, informative matarial for design and planning. 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