Winners of the Building Futures Awards 2011 announced
Three Hertfordshire based construction projects were last night hailed for their green and sustainable innovation at the Hertfordshire biennial Building Futures Awards 2011.
Key note speaker Lynne Sullivan OBE Judges Barry Shaw & Dr. David Strong
Supporting Hertfordshire in its commitment to a sustainable built environment, the Awards are designed to recognise construction projects that demonstrate innovative, creative and high quality design in response to current environmental challenges.
Thirteen schemes, including a local dairy, two colleges, a children’s centre, and an Olympics event venue were shortlisted in three Awards categories: Design Excellence, Most Sustainable Construction, and Outstanding Commitment to Adapt to a Changing Climate.
The winners, announced at an awards ceremony at the Watford Colosseum on 22 November, were:
- Hertford Regional College, Broxbourne Centre
Design Excellence - University of Hertfordshire Law Court, Hatfield
Most Sustainable Construction - Cotney Croft and Peartree Way social housing scheme, Stevenage
Outstanding Commitment to Adapt to a Changing Climate
Five other entries were recognised by the judges for the achievements they had made:
- Frobisher House, Bushey (Special Award for Design Excellence)
- Lee Valley White Water Centre, Waltham Cross (Special Award for Design Excellence)
- New Goshala Dairy Farm & Visitor Centre, Aldenham (Commended for Most Sustainable Construction)
- West Herts College, Watford (Highly Commended for Design Excellence; Highly Commended for Most Sustainable COnstruction)
- Temple Court, Baldock (Highyl Commended for Outstanding Commitment to Adapt to a Changing Climate)
The entries were assessed by an expert panel of judges: urban designer Jeremy Caulton; architect Barry Shaw; sustainability expert Dr David Strong; and sustainability consultant Isabel McAllister, who developed the original Building Futures guidance.
Our superb key note speaker for the evening was Lynne Sullivan OBE of sustainableBYdesign architectural practice. Lynne is an expert in sustainable architecture and a leading proponent of sustainable design and construction in the UK and internationally. Lynne gave a high class presentation on the need and opportunities for embedding sustainable design into all new development projects in the UK, reminding us that excellence should not be the exception.
Lynne Sullivan OBE, Barry Shaw,
Sarah McCukser and Dr. David Strong
Delegates at the Awards
Richard Thake, Hertfordshire County Council's Executive Member for Environment & Community Safety, said:
“Once again, the biennial Building Futures Awards have proved that there is an abundance of innovative, sustainable and environmentally sound developments in Hertfordshire. I would like to congratulate all of our winners and shortlisted entrants for making Hertfordshire a greener and more sustainable place to live for people now and in the future.”
The Awards also saw the official launch of the SustainaBuild project, a European funded project that aims to develop the low carbon supply chain in the East of England and to build the capacity of SMEs in the region so that they can become the foundations of robust and prosperous low carbon construction industry in the region.
As part of the project, an energy efficient retrofit of a sheltered housing complex in Broxbourne, owned and managed by Broxbourne Housing Association, will provide a demonstration project which SMEs can observe and learn from. Building Futures are happy to be a project partner and support his leading initiative. For more information of the SustainaBuild project please contact Sarah McCusker at Climate Consulting - Sarah.McCusker@climate-consulting.co.uk.
Details of the winning projects in each award category are below. To see details of the Special Award winners, commended schemes, and other short listed schemes, click here.
Design Excellence
Name of project: Hertford Regional College, Broxbourne Centre
Client: Hertford Regional College
Architect: Bond Bryan Architects Ltd.
Hertford Regional College provides further and higher education to students from across Hertfordshire, West Essex and North London, with the site split over two campuses – one in Broxbourne and one in Ware.
The key objective for the Broxbourne campus was to transform its image, creating a highly visible and welcoming centre to showcase the learning activities within the campus and the highest quality learning environments to both the local and wider community.
The new development opened in 2011 and features a training restaurant open to the public; kitchens and a bakery; an 18 seat mock air cabin with security check in desk; dance and music facilities; sound recording and TV studios; a 140 seat performance theatre and a major learning resource centre alongside classrooms and IT suites.
The new building is complemented by a combination of refurbishment to the existing buildings to maximise their use, and a new specialist engineering, motor vehicle workshop, construction skills workshop, Children’s Centre and nursery.
The building provides a landmark within the community, with a highly glazed entrance into the central atrium providing a welcoming, safe and fully accessible entrance into a clearly legible internal learning environment. A simple palette of materials has been used to create a strong architectural statement. The building forms two wings either side of the atrium which angle out and open towards the main entrance façade.
The design has created a series of learning destinations along a central circulation route that links through the new atrium space through to a landscaped external courtyard beyond. The building utilises narrow depth wings to maximise the use of natural daylight and has used high quality robust materials to ensure low embodied energy whilst also providing low lifecycle costs.
Jeremy Caulton, Hertfordshire Building Futures Awards judge, said:
“The things we look for in the Design Excellence Category are, not only excellence in architectural design, but also evidence that the building is fit for purpose. A celebration of learning has been woven into all elements of the Broxbourne campus and the architects behind it have successfully created an exceptional learning environment that can service both the local and wider community.”
Most Sustainable Construction Award
Name of project: University of Hertfordshire Law Court, Hatfield
Client: University of Hertfordshire
Architect: RMJM
The development of the University of Hertfordshire’s Law Court building considered sustainability as a key priority from the outset - resulting in a BREEAM Excellent building, with an ‘A’ rated Energy performance certificate, which is both commercially and environmentally efficient. The project was completed on time and in budget, and has exceeded the expectations of its initial objectives.
The University of Hertfordshire has a carbon management plan which commits to reducing carbon emissions by 43% by 2020. The construction of the Law Court was included in this plan, and a total carbon reduction of 25.6% of regulated emissions was achieved through the use of low and zero carbon technologies. Now complete, it is predicted that the Law Court will consume less than 50% of the carbon previously consumed by the Law School it replaced. It benefits from a Combined Heat and Power Plant that reduces primary energy use by 30% compared to heat-only boilers, and a roof mounted photovoltaic panel array which is predicted to generate 4,420 kWh of electricity, saving approximately 2.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum.
The building’s environmental credentials are such that it was awarded an EPC rating above that required for a BREEAM Excellent rating. In addition, the water section of the building’s BREEAM assessment scored 100% through measures including reduced WC flushing capacity and a rainwater harvesting system which collects roof run for WC flushing.
One of the most impressive aspects of the building was the incorporation of a highly innovative E Stack system for ventilating and cooling the building. The E Stack system requires very little energy and when compared with conventional methods of ventilating and cooling buildings delivers very substantial carbon savings at reduced capital cost and with a much smaller plant space requirement.
In addition to the above, other design and best practice measures contributed to the BREEAM Excellent rating, these include the use of a green concrete specification in the concrete mix, saving 35% on embodied energy when compared to standard concrete (the equivalent saving of around 150 tonnes of carbon dioxide), and a site wide Sustainable Urban Drainage System to reduce peak flows to green field run off rates.
Professor David Strong, Hertfordshire Building Futures Awards judge, said:
“One of the most impressive things about this project is that sustainability was evidently at the core of all decisions. The design process was client-led and highly integrated. This led to significant cost savings, whist ensuring appropriate specification of construction method and the materials used. The incorporation of ultra-low energy consuming plant and equipment, such as the “free” ventilation and cooling system, was very innovative. These measures will all contribute long-term to reducing carbon emissions and water wastage. The ongoing monitoring and display (on an LCD screen in the entrance foyer) of energy production and consumption (together with water usage and savings) information is also exemplary. The environmental credentials of this building are truly outstanding.”
Outstanding Commitment to Adapt to a Changing Climate Award
Name of project: Cotney Croft and Peartree Way, Stevenage
Client: Home Group Ltd
Architect: Baily Garner LLP
In 2007, Stevenage Borough Council launched a project to transform two derelict sites, Cotney Croft and Peartree Way, to create distinctive and contemporary low carbon housing for social rent. Designed by Home Group Ltd and architects Baily Garner, the main aim was to develop eight houses to enable residents to lead sustainable lifestyles and benefit from reduced fuel bills, whilst also creating a blueprint for other homes in the future.
The houses have been designed to the highest principles of sustainable construction and performance. The project has been immensely successful with one of the homes being among the first in the country to achieve the coveted Code Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. All the other houses have achieved an impressive Code Level 5.
Completed in March 2011 each house has a monopitch roof tilted towards the south with integrated solar photovoltaic (PV) roof tiles. The electricity generated by the photovoltaics will meet most of the residents’ energy demands. Each house has touch screen monitors enabling residents to monitor energy generation and consumption within their homes.
The homes comply with Lifetime Homes Standards and are highly airtight. They also feature a high efficiency whole house mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system (MVHR), whereby the fresh incoming air recoups the heat from the extracted air.
The properties have a Sustainable Drainage System (SUDS) with underground rainwater harvesting tanks to flush WCs and all materials were responsibly sourced and wherever possible, were recycled during construction.
These houses enable families to lead sustainable lifestyles, whilst providing a body of research on energy production and use from the photovoltaic tiles.
Professor David Strong, Hertfordshire Building Futures Awards judge, said:
“This development is hugely impressive. It was clear from the entry that when it came to environmental impact and creating houses for the future, no detail was overlooked. The on-going monitoring of energy use and production from the photovoltaic tiles and occupant interaction with the technologies is particularly impressive. The design and build of these houses should be taken as a masterclass in the future of social housing and how our industry adapts to the Government imposed carbon reduction targets.”