Work to start on site this week
Work starts on site this week on the new headquarters for Wexford County Council. The project was won in an open international competition last year by NORD Architecture and multi-disciplinary consulting engineers Buro Happold, who are responsible for both the structural and building services design.
“The design takes into account both the programmatic and architectural complexities of a contemporary council headquarters, while integrating a strong sustainable environmental strategy,” said Robin Lee of NORD Architecture.
The layout for the offices features a single facility with six buildings around a public internal street, creating a ‘townscape’ which is both open and easy for visitors to navigate. Courtyards landscaped with indigenous plants bring natural light and ventilation to all spaces, and connect with the countryside beyond, while hard surfaces are cut from local stone.
Buro Happold’s design to achieve 30% less energy use than current benchmark
The form and orientation is designed to optimise energy efficiency, with a double façade tempering incoming air. The glass panels in the outer layer will filter unwanted solar energy, while the double-glazed windows in the inner wall operate horizontally, to maximise air infiltration and exfiltration. The cavity will also incorporate a walkway to facilitate cleaning.
Considerable care has been taken to minimize energy use. “The main energy load on the building, in terms of the occupants’ comfort, is heating,” said Chris Perry, Buro Happold’s Design Manager on the project. “Each of the department blocks will minimise heating loads through insulation and airtight design, with further reduction gained through a glass rain screen surrounding the building – in winter this acts as both a buffer space and thermal wrapper.”
A buffer space will capture solar energy
The buffer space will capture solar energy as well, raising the temperature 5 to 10°C above the external temperature, reducing heat loss and pre-heating incoming air. Meanwhile, natural ventilation allows the use of powered fans to be minimised, and in summer underfloor heating will cease.
The central street area requires minimal heat in winter; just for fabric protection and preventing condensation. The heavyweight concrete roof and glazed walls will provide a relatively stable environment. Meanwhile a ground loop laid just below the surface of the car park will gather heat and convert it to heating energy, using a heat pump.
BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating achieved
“The renewable technology and natural ventilation set new standards in low energy design,” said Perry. “The target is to achieve 30% less energy than the current benchmark, and the building has been rated BREEAM Excellent.”
The new headquarters is scheduled to open in summer 2009.
Project team:
Client: Wexford County Council
Architect: NORD Architecture in association with Arthur Gibney & Partners
Buro Happold services: Building services, building structures, acoustic engineering, façade engineering, CoSA (computational simulation and analysis), FEDRA (fire engineering), SAT (Sustainability and Alternative Technologies).
Main contractor: Pierse
Ends
Note to Editors:
Buro Happold
Press office and practice information at www.burohappold.com
Images are available on request.
For more information, please contact:
Jenni O’Connor
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Tel +44 (0)1225 320600 ext. 2937
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Email jenni.o’connor@burohappold.com
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, inclusive design consultancy, project management, urban design and a range of specialist CAD services.
