CAT and Buro Happold get Wise!
Consulting engineer to provide structural engineering expertise on landmark sustainability project
Buro Happold has been appointed structural engineer on the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education (WISE), a building intended to showcase the very latest thinking in environmentally-conscious building design.
The WISE Project is being built at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), Europe’s leading Eco Centre, near Machynlleth in Wales and the architects are Pat Borer and David Lea. It has been generously funded by a range of organisations and individuals including Objective 2 funding from the European Union, provided through the Welsh Assembly Government.
The news has been welcomed by Andrew Davies, Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks.
"The Centre for Alternative Technology has a fine record in developing leading edge environmental projects, and we are proud that this latest move places Wales once more in the vanguard of promoting world-class sustainable building design", Mr Davies said.
Among the innovative features of the building will be construction of rammed earth walls in the Institute’s lecture theatre, the use of natural ventilation where possible, a biomass-fuelled combined heat and power system, solar photovoltaic cells on the roof and extensive use of timber. These features will help keep the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the building low during its operation. Use of local resources where possible, such as timber from stewarded forests in the region, will also keep control of the CO2 created by the construction process.
The 7.2m high rammed earth walls, which are load-bearing and made of excavated subsoil, exemplify this approach. The clay content of the soil means no additional binding material will have to be added. The walls are packed down in layers, using hand-held pneumatic compactors, between temporary formwork.
“This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of rammed earth construction. As well as the energy savings in construction, the result is a building with a greater thermal mass than its conventional equivalent – ideal for a building with high thermal loads, such as a theatre,” says Toby Hodsdon, Buro Happold’s project engineer and a structural engineer with experience of rammed earth construction. Toby worked for six months at a rammed earth contractor in Australia as part of a study tour, sponsored by the Institution of Structural Engineers, in 2004.
“Rammed earth is also a surprisingly flexible material to work with, as the circular design of this building shows, and gives a more interesting, tactile finish. The project is a great and unique opportunity for us and we’re proud to be working with such forward-looking architects and client on this project,” Toby adds.
When construction begins on site, currently scheduled for June, this will be one of the biggest being undertaken and one of only around a dozen rammed earth structures that are built in the UK each year.
As well as reducing the project’s use of cement, which consumes significant amounts of energy during manufacture, the rammed earth walls will help absorb heat and moisture from inside the building and help reduce the need for mechanical air conditioning in the lecture theatre. The walls add another visual dimension to this striking, circular theatre, which has capacity for 200 students, giving an unusual visual and tactile quality to the space. This also fits in with CAT’s aim to “inspire, inform and enable”.
Alongside the lecture theatre is a substantial three-storey complex of other spaces, including 24 study bedrooms (12 on each of the top two floors), three seminar rooms, four offices, a small library, three workshops and two laboratories, all based around a courtyard. In total, the centre will occupy an area of around 1,880m and provides facilities equivalent to those of a mini-university.
The split-level building enclosing all these spaces will make extensive use of timber. Glulam beams will be used to create a framed structure, supporting an innovative solid timber floor to maximise spans and create the soffit to the space below. Timber will be locally sourced, from forests accredited for their sustainable stewardship.
Between the structural posts and beams of the building, a lime and hemp fill material will be used, chosen for its excellent insulation properties and sustainability credentials. This will be pumped into place using a novel technique developed by Lime Technology, a specialist contractor.
The entire site is scheduled to be complete in late 2007.
Design team
Client Centre for Alternative Technology
Architects Pat Borer and David Lea
Structural engineers Buro Happold
Buildings services Fulcrum Consulting
Building contractor Frank Galliers Ltd
Notes for Editors
Press office and practice information at www.burohappold.com
Contact: Neil Wilks, Press officer, Tel: 01225 321764 Email: neil.wilks@burohappold.com
CAT can supply computer generated images of the WISE complex as well as images of rammed earth construction techniques. Please contact Arthur Girling for more information on 01654 705953, email media@cat.org.uk Please credit images to "Centre For Alternative Technology"
Buro Happold
Buro Happold is a multi-disciplinary international practice of consulting engineers established in 1976. It offers 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.
Press office and practice information at www.burohappold.com
Contact: Neil Wilks, Press officer, Tel: 01225 321764 Email: neil.wilks@burohappold.com
Centre for Alternative Technology
The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) is a pioneering research and demonstration centre that inspires, informs and enables people to explore new ways of living. Opening to the public back in 1975, it has established a worldwide reputation as one of the leading organisations demonstrating ecological technologies and lifestyles. CAT presents practical solutions to environmental problems in a fun and informative way through a visitor centre, residential courses, informative publications and a consultancy service.
Centre for Alternative Technology Charity Limited, a company limited by guarantee; Charity no. 265239; company no.1090006, registered in Wales; registered office: Llwyngwern, Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 9AZ
The project is funded by the following:
Welsh Assembly Government
UPM Kymmene
Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund
Big Lottery Fund
ERDF
Powys Local Regeneration Fund
Environment Wales
Energy Saving Trust
Snowdonia National Park CAE Fund
Countryside Council For Wales
Wales Tourist Board
CAT Own Funds (appeals, reserves, mortgage)
A separate project to provide new energy generation on the site is funded by the Wood Energy Business Scheme and CAT.