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Edinburgh green refurb could score 'Outstanding' |
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9 Sep 2012, 5:11 PM
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The Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation (ECCI), a project to renovate the grade B listed Old High School at Edinburgh University is on site and on track to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating.
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The Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation (ECCI), a project to renovate the grade B listed Old High School at Edinburgh University is on site and on track to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating.
ECCI aims to be a hub for the knowledge, innovation and skills required to create a low carbon economy. Hosted by the University of Edinburgh, in partnership with Heriot-Watt University and Edinburgh Napier University, the Edinburgh Centre creates a platform for supporting Government policy implementation; enhancing business enterprise and innovation; and delivering professional skills training.
Architect Fraser, director at Malcolm Fraser Architects, said: “Many buildings that have won the [BREEAM] ‘Outstanding’ designation are styled to look like green spaceships, adrift in some distant business park-galaxy. This radical green building looks exactly like a historic one - given the urgency of the fight against climate change we need to understand that the joyful and creative adaptation of our existing building stock is the outstanding issue facing us.”
If successful in attaining the 'Outstanding' grade this would be the first refurbishment project in the UK to do so – which will provide a groundbreaking exemplar of how our current building stock can be adapted to reduce our energy demands and carbon emissions in the future."
The building, being built by contractor Graham, uses passive design principles where possible by considering the effects of solar gain, shading and the area’s microclimate on the temperature and ventilation of the building.
It will also take 57% of its energy from renewable sources and uses natural timber products in its insulation, increasing the level of air permeability and controlling humidity.
The building will be connected to nearby Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and associated electrical and district heating networks (DHN), allowing a 38% decrease in CO2 emissions and meeting 56% energy demand. An Air Source Heat Pump will provide efficient cooling to a minimal number of rooms, with a 30m2 PV (photo Voltaic) south facing roof array to balance the electricity drawn from the national grid.
The building has seminar and lecture facilities, meeting rooms, offices and social spaces.
The project is currently on site and due for completion in summer 2013. Contractor GRAHAM Construction has started erecting the innovative timber frame of the 2333 square metre building which is being created on the site of Edinburgh’s historic Old High School in High School Yards, which counts famous figures such as Sir Walter Scott among its former pupils.
The project involves refurbishing and remodelling the space to deliver lecture theatres, seminar rooms and exhibition and social areas.
An innovative approach to design and construction could also see the ECCI become the first refurbished building in the world to achieve the industry sustainability BREEAM standard of Outstanding. In making their designation decisions, BREEAM considers elements such as waste, pollution, land use and ecology, materials, management, health & wellbeing, energy, transport, water and an imaginative approach.
Features such as using harvested rainwater for use in the flushing of WCs, solar controlled glazing in the windows to keep occupants cool and remove the need for air conditioning and underfloor heating will all contribute to a 30% saving in energy consumption over the building’s former performance.
The constructors regional director Neil McFarlane said: “The challenge of creating a building which could be the only one of its kind in the world is daunting, but one we are relishing being a part of. We have completed the demolition of the old and obsolete parts of the building while retaining the historic facade.
“Now that the timber frame is going up, we can really see the fabric of the new building start to take shape and we look forward to delivering on the ECCI’s vision of a unique facility which actively encourages collaboration among its occupants.”
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