Making the most of what you’ve got

The fifth joint study day was held on Friday 3rd June, University of the West of England, Bristol. In the morning there were four presentations:

• What is ‘sustainable’ design and creating the conditions for success from Richard Parnaby, Professor of Architecture, University of the West of England.
• Maximising the potential of our existing buildings from Craig White, Director of White Design and ModCell.
• Capital Review, where we are and the next steps Russell Andrews, Director of Education and Planning, Partnership for Schools.
• Can you afford not to re-imagine your workspace Andrew Wiles, Transformational Workstyle Consultant, Atkins Global.

In the afternoon there was a choice of workshops:

• Getting the most from… M&E technology solutions in existing buildings by Bill Wright, ECA Head of Energy Solutions and facilitated by Paul Reeve, ECA Head of Safety and Environment.
• Sustainable specification in the public sector by John Gelder Head of content development & sustainability RIBA Enterprises.
• SCAPE the benefits of a collaborative approach by Tom Ridley-Thompson, Concept Architect, Scape System Build Ltd.
• Retrofit biomass heating supported by the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) by Chris Miles, Director of the Renewable Energy Association (REA).
• Sustainable Refurbishment Project by Barry Le Bailly, Head of Architects, Huntingdonshire District Council.
• Financial mechanisms to help encourage the take-up of energy conservation measures in existing buildings by Phil Harris, SCEME Vice President and Chief Engineer, Worcestershire County Council.

There were also two tours of the Faculty building by Matt Tarling, Divisional Director of Stride Treglown’s dedicated education team. Matt was responsible for the new faculty building at UWE that houses the school of architecture and school of product design. The design achieves a BREEAM Excellent rating and uses recycled chip fat from the University catering operation to power the boilers. Matt led the consultant team through the briefing and design period.

And the day was finished with a presentation on Commissioning, seasonal commissioning, EPCs and DECS by David Bleicher, Head of BSRIA’s publications and training programme.

The day before there was the opportunity to visit two buildings in the area. Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC) is a bespoke community media centre in a disadvantaged neighbourhood. The charity provides access to digital media opportunities for young people and is a hub for regeneration in the area. The centre is the second largest straw bale building in Europe forming the exterior envelope of the building, providing insulation levels 3 times higher than the current building regulations require. Natural ventilation is operated automatically on a building management system (BMS) via full height glazing and rooflights. The building has a biomass boiler, rainwater harvesting system and a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS).

South Gloucestershire Council offices comprise 100,000sq.ft (net) and accommodate 900 staff, forming a civic ‘gateway’ into Yate sitting alongside the busy A432. Landscaping provides a positive link between internal and external spaces, with high quality external spaces provided for staff, shielded from public view. Minimal maintenance, long life, energy reduction and sustainability were core requirements of the brief, with BREEAM ‘Very Good’ as the minimum, and an aspiration to achieve better, budget permitting. Natural ventilation was the preferred method of cooling the building.

SCALA and SCEME are very grateful for the support of their sponsors for the event ECA, NBS, Atkins, SCAPE, BSRIA and the support of the University of the West of England.