THE ENVIRONMENTAL BUILDING,

Building Research Establishment

by Nitayaporn Sithiprasasana (Prae) 513 47387 25

Basic Information

Location: Garston, Watsford

Area: 1300 m2 of offices for about 100 staff
800 m2 or so of seminar and associated facilities
Building Type: Office
Client: Building Research Establishment (BRE)
Project Manager: Bernard Williams and Associates
Architect: Clegg Architects
Services Engineers: Max Fordham and Partners
Completion Date: 1999
Ventilation Strategy: 100% natural ventilation, Cross and stack ventilation, Night cooling, Intelligent BMS.
Abstract Wind Distribution

With the collaboration between the

Building Research Establishment Energy
Conservation support Unit (BRECSU) and the
Energy Efficient Office of the Future (EOF)
Group, the building became a landmark
building combining the highest architectural
standards with the latest innovations in energy
efficient design. The building is environmental
friendly due to it acts as a model for BRE
research, and to demonstrate techniques
which could be adopted in the design of
future offices to give a comfortable and
healthy environment that is also energy
efficient. Thus, this is the important reason
why I chose this building for the analysis.
Moreover, after understanding its system
clearly, it will provide some solutions for my
design projects and some significant informa-
tion that will help me distinguish between Although winds come from all directions, winds from the
advantage and disadvantage of systems south-west are somewhat more common than others.
easier and better.

Building Envelope

Firstly, the existing building on the site had to be demolished and every attempt was made to recycle
as much of the material as possible. Secondly, in constructing the new building, careful consideration was
given to the choice of materials. Thus, the renewable resource of timber ceiling was used on the top floor as
a compromise between a structural criterion to keep the weight low and an environmental one to keep the
thermal mass up. The roof itself is aluminum sheet on the basis that aluminum is an easily recyclable mate-
rial. Recycled aggregates replaced coarse aggregate in over 1500 m2 of concrete for foundations, floor
slabs, structural columns and intermediate floors. The site is fairly open and consists mainly of two or three-
storey buildings with the occasional block of five or six storeys. The south façade of the office section is
“clad” with an array of controllable motorized louvers supported by five passive solar ventilation stacks. The
building is insulated with 100mm of insulation and is of medium thermal mass to shift daytime temperature
peaks to night-time.

-Components- -Function-
Floor Concrete Its purpose of this building does not only provide
Walls 100mm brickwork working office but the building with low energy consumption
100mm insulation to make it a model of future office building. There are various
150mm blockwork dense plaster factors that make it becomes low energy consumption
Roof Aluminium building which are avoiding and minimizing the use of
150mmm insulation air-conditioning, maximizing the benefits of the building
75mm timber/150mm concrete fabric in term of reducing the heating and cooling loads,
Windows Double glazed, low E, argon filled minimizing the use of artificial lighting while actively exploit-
ing daylight, and applying the appropriate level of automatic
and user controls.

-Design Intent-
Barrier “wind” as the building clad with brickwork and insulation.
Filter “light and heat” as the windows are double glazed, low E, and argon filled.
Switch “door and window” as they allow natural and cross ventilation, night cooling
Connecter “open corridor” as the south of the building there is an open space of about 30 m.
 Building Envelope
-Building Skin -
Non load-bearing Multi-skin Multi-layered

-Light transmittance-
Opaque Translucent Transparent

Daylighting Systems

In many ways the starting point for low energy buildings is to make the best use of solar energy and daylight while
ensuring that potentially deleterious consequences are avoided. The glass is clear. There is no solar tinting was applied
because it was felt that it would look odd if when the windows were open the occupants perceived a color difference
between the light through the solar tinted glass and daylight. Options for additional solar control are mainly internal
blinds, mid-pane blinds and external shades. Fixed external louvers have a principle disadvantage of an unavoidable
reduction in passive solar gain and daylight. Instead of an opaque louver which when closed would exclude all daylight,
clear float glass with a white ceramic coating on the underside was used. This has a light transmission of 40% and a
reflectance of 50%, and gives a reasonable balance among solar gain, daylight and glare control. The louvers are
oriented so the views of the occupants are not obstructed while either seated at desks or standing in circulation
spaces. On the south façade roller blinds can be used; these blinds are also fitted on the north façade to deal with
glare. The south façade, with its motorized louvers, is a prime example of butterfly design. The louvers are controlled by
solar position and external light level. Daylighting is complemented by a high-efficiency, automatically controlled lighting
system consisting of:

1. Luminaires with high-efficiency TL5 linear fluorescent

tubes with high frequency dimmable control gear
2. A controller
3. PIR movement detectors
4. Hand-held infrared light controllers

The office are lit to a general light level of about 300 lux with fluorescent task lights being provided to give a higher
illuminance where needed. This was done both for visual effect and to provide a more uniform overall light level within
the office. Obviously the use of high-efficiency lamps and a control system which provides light only in the quantity
needed, and when needed, helped to meet the tight electricity consumption design target. But there was also a signigi-
cant hidden advantage in that it is estimated that without this approach the internal peak temperature during the day
would be about 1 C higher.

Summer
Problem: potential overheating
Solution: shading, ventilation and thermal mass
Winter
Problem: excessive heat loss
Solution: glazing systems with the low U-values
or by insulating shutter at night
Daylight factor on a sunny day in winter
HVAC Systems

Heating
For the building no additional heating is required
during the day above an external temperature of
about 7 C. The choice of the main form of heating
swung towards underfloor heating coils when the
borehole on the site became likely. This allowed the
one system to perform the two functions of heating
and cooling. Radiators could not have been used to
provide the cooling as damaging condensation
would have formed on their surface. The underfloor
heating system also has the advantage that, as it
runs at a lower temperature than the rest of the
system, it produces alower return water temperature
which increases the efficiency of the condensing Simplified heating and cooling schemetic
boiler. There are radiators in almost all areas of the
building, and there are heater batteries on the fresh
air inlets in all of the seminar rooms. In the office
areas only 38% of the floor area is taken up by the
underfloor heating coils. It was to allow the client
flexibility within the spaces but there was not suffi-
cient area of underfloor heating coil to obtain the
required output and so aupplementary form of
heating was needed. cross ventilation, windy stack ventilation, hot still
summer’s day summer’s day
Ventilation
Ventilation strategies in the built environment generally depend on noise levels and site wind patterns. The
starting points of the building are to minimize the energy use associated with ventilation, either cross or stack-
effect ventilation or a combination of both, and high thermal mass to smooth cooling loads. Next point was to
link the ventilation path with the thermal mass to take advantage of night cooling, and the follow up point was
that the normal requirement that a space for heating pipes, electrical cables and so forth had to be found. The
key of the ventilation of this building are;

6
7

1. ventilation paths through slab serving floor below

2. raised floor zone for cables and pipes for floor above
3. screed with heating or cooling pipes and insulation beneath
4. pre-cast concrete ceiling with in situ concrete topping
5. high level windows Ventilation path in open plan offices on a
6. side-hung casement windows summer day with no wind
7. bottom-hung translucent windows
The ventilation paths were studied for a variety of situations including combinations of summer/winter,
day/night, wind /no wind, wind from the south/wind form the north, rain/no rain, and open plan/cellular offices.
An essential element of the ventilation strategy is that it is loose-fit and had numerous air paths. In the summer
cross ventilation is facilitated by the shallow floor plan. Air can come in under BMS control through openings at
the edge of the slab or through the high level windows, or the side-hung windows can be opened manually.
The vertical shafts on the south façade allow stack effect ventilation. During the winter, ventilation is not needed
to reduce temperatures and the required air quantity is related to stuffiness and odor control. Ventilation air
flows thus simply depend on varying opening sizes and occasionally running fans. No filters are used.
HVAC Systems (cont.)
Cooling
A number of different options including a
cooling coil linked t a dry air cooler were
studied and a borehole system was
selected as most in keeping with the
overall project philosophy. It then made
sense to link the borehole system to the
offices’ area pipework to provide a low
cost improved environment that bettered
the brief. Considerable attention was given
to control and comfort. To reduce the risk
of discomfort which might result from the
floor above wanting cooling with the floor
below not needing it, insulation was incor-
porated below the screed containing the
pipes
Mean daily internal and external
temperatures for the 1997 calendar year
Integrated Design
Night and groundwater cooling
Air-conditioning has been
avoided by exposing the ceiling
slab. The slab absorbs heat
during the day and is cooled
down by ventilation at night.
Pipes embedded in the floor
can provide additional cooling Low-energy cooling. Underfloor
utilising groundwater. pipework cools the floor slab using
groundwater
Lighting
A fully integrated, intelligent and efficient lighting system has
been installed which automatically compensates for daylight
levels and occupancy, controlling each light separately.
Three-way
Electric lighting is sensor for the
provided by a lighting system
highly efficient and provides daylight
fully controllable and occupancy
luminaire system level sensing
and a receiver for
Controls an infrared
The operation of the building controller
systems is controlled
automatically using the latest
integrated technology.
Occupants also have a high
degree of control over their local
environment by overriding
automatic control of the lights,
louvres, windows and heating. Occupants can override
In addition they can manually automatic settings for
open mid-level windows. lights, louvres, windows
and heating
Photovoltaic array
The 47 m2 Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) array
incorporated in the Environmental Building provides non-
polluting electricity directly to the building. Utilising thin film
amorphous silicon cells, the array seeks to explore issues
associated with the integration of photovoltaics into vertical
walling, building on previous demonstration installations within
the UK.
Conclusion
The environmental building is an important step towards
sustainable, positive energy building. Its most significant
contribution is that it provides designers with a way of think-
ing about buildings. It is not a kit of parts where architects
select an external shade here or a stack there, but a way to
provide fresh air, remove stale air and waste heat, good level
of light, excellent thermal control, and maintain the comfort.
Night-cooled thermal mass can be effective in providing
comfortable spaces. Daylighting strategies can minimize
electric lighting consumption. Strategies for control of unoc-
cupied spaces should be in place early in occupancy, to
meet the tenant’s needs and minimize energy wastage.