Buro Happold and Dominique Perrault design focal point in restoration

Reigate has a new flagship facility - the pavilion in Priory Park, which is now open to the public. The pavilion, which includes a café, toilets, park information space and an office for the park manager, will complement the restoration work on the rest of the historic site.

Buro Happold has provided building services engineering and the CDM co-ordinator role for the project, working with Dominique Perrault Architecture to produce a design that adapts to the existing landscape and the historic Priory building. The surrounding greenery is visible in the reflective mirrored facades, creating a pavilion that blends with the rest of the park, but is still a prominent design feature.

The single storey circular pavilion is enclosed by a glazed facade and has a lightweight steel framed roof which is supported on four steel columns located in the central space.

Archaeological finds
Given the history of the site, archaeological investigations took place prior to construction to ensure that any historical finds could be preserved. A number of revelations included the hexagonal brick foundations of a dovecote, staddles to support the suspended floor of a hay rick, and the foundations of a large square building. These resulted in the modification of construction plans for the foundations.

Minimising environmental impact through effective building services design
A fully holistic approach was adopted for the building services design; it considered the environmental impact within the natural park setting, a responsible solution to minimising energy consumption and future operating and revenue costs.

Steve Macey, building services Associate Director and project leader, said: “Our aim with the new pavilion was to minimise the impact on the environment. I believe that by the use of natural ventilation, and by integrating the ground source heat pump into the historical landscape setting, we have successfully achieved both an energy efficient and sustainable solution.”

The installation of a ground source heat pump (GSHP) is one of the key sustainable solutions for the project. As the building has a glazed facade restricting the use of radiators, heat is instead provided to the café and welcome areas during the winter using underfloor heating in conjunction with the ground source heat pump. During the summer, passive cooling of the pavilion is achieved by circulating water, which has passed through the cooler surrounding ground, through the embedded floor pipes.

The use of the ground source heat exchangers, or “slinkys”, created a major design challenge for the team; part of the brief was to ensure that any historical finds were not affected by their installation. Also, the team had to ensure that the current landscape, including football and cricket pitches, and areas where new trees have been planted, remained uninterrupted. They successfully overcame this challenge, and the pipes were installed successfully with minimum disruption to the park’s activities.

Summer and winter ventilation was considered extensively, and the effects of solar gain were assessed using computer modelling. In the summer months, the solar reflectance properties of the glazing will minimise internal solar gain while maintaining a feeling of transparency through the glass both internally and externally. Solar gain to the internal spaces is also limited by the highly insulated roof.

Mechanical ventilation assists air entering naturally through the open doors, and high level “Monodraught” wind catchers also provide draft air centrally to the seated and welcome areas.

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council emphasise pavilion’s key part in park restoration
Reigate & Banstead Borough Councillor, Adam De Save, Executive Member for Leisure and Wellbeing, said: “The Pavilion is a key part of Priory Park’s restoration, it’s unique, contemporary design is a central feature of the Park’s new layout. I am sure visitors to the Park will be struck by the building’s distinctive beauty.

“The Pavilion ground source heat pump, is an impressive feature, it is expected to save 13.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.”

The public can now enjoy the facilities at the Priory Park pavilion. The official opening of the park is due to take place on 8 July.

Project Team:

Client: Reigate & Banstead Borough Council
Architect: Dominique Perrault Architecture & CRGP
Services provided by Buro Happold: Building services and CDM co-ordination
Structures: Momentum
Quantity Surveyor: Heritage Cost Consultants

Ends

Note to Editors:
 

Image credit: Perrault Projets


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Buro Happold is a multi-disciplinary international practice of consulting engineers established in 1976. We now employ over 1,700 staff in 21 offices worldwide and our aim is to produce high quality engineering design in concept, in detail and in execution, on time, to programme and delivering excellent value for money. Our distinctive culture and ethos is still based on the same principles of care, value and elegance that were established when the practice was founded.

We offer structural, building services, civil, infrastructure and façade engineering, as well as a broad range of specialist consultancy services including sustainability, ground and environmental engineering, fire and security design, health and safety management, inclusive and urban design, project management, and specialist CAD and computer simulation provision.