21 October 2003
Buro Happold’s Kibble Palace Appointment
Buro Happold has been appointed as part of the multi-disciplinary team as environmental and mechanical building services engineers by Glasgow City Council Building Services design section to restore the famous Kibble Palace at Glasgow Botanic Gardens back to its original condition.
The structure of the Palace will almost have to be completely dismantled to restore and repair the site before commencing re-erection and glazing. Internally, the mechanical services of the building will be completely renewed to create the most advantageous internal environment allowing Kibble Palace to remain renowned for its botanical excellence.
Buro Happold is providing mechanical engineering services, associated quantity surveying and Computational Simulation and Analysis (CoSA) for the project. The CoSA group is involved in carrying out dynamic thermal modelling of mechanical plant loads and natural ventilation options to ensure optimum internal conditions.
Rod Manson, partner commented, “Buro Happold has extensive experience in this area. We have worked on projects with sensitive environments similar to the Kibble Palace. Through experience we know that it is important that the design must create the most suitable climatic conditions to allow the plants to thrive. Although it is intended to utilise the most sustainable and energy efficient systems available we must take into account the needs of this special collection of plants. The use of biomass heat generation and rainwater harvesting are solutions currently under review.”
Covering 2137 square meters, the Kibble Palace is one of the largest green houses in the UK. Originally built by engineer John Kibble at his home in Coulport in1864, it was dismantled and shipped up the Clyde and rebuilt in 1873 when it was presented it to the Royal Botanic Institution.
It was originally used for promenade concerts, events, was the venue to the inaugural meeting of the British Association in 1876, and for Glasgow University’s rectorial addresses by Disraeli and Gladstone. In 1881 it was converted to a plant house and today it currently houses an extensive collection of plants and ferns from Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the Americas and the Far East.
Background information for editors:
Press office and practice information
Buro Happold is a multi-disciplinary international practice of consulting engineers established in 1976 offering civil and structural engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, quantity surveying, building services and environmental engineering, health and safety management, infrastructure and traffic engineering, ground engineering, façade engineering, fire engineering, computational fluid dynamics analysis, disability design consultancy, project management, urban design and a range of specialist CAD services.
