Sustainable Development in action: Best Practice Case studies ACE member firms have provided examples of best practice in the following case studies.

	Montgomery School Consultant: NG Bailey Montgomery School is a 420-pupil primary school in St Thomas, Exeter, run by Devon County Council. The new school was built on the playing fields of the original 1920s school, which has since been demolished and the areas used as the new playing field. NG Bailey worked on the project alongside main contractor BAM, and architects and designers NPS. The key aim of the £2m mechanical and electrical engineering contract was to help deliver the UK's first zero-carbon Passivhaus school. The Passivhaus standard requires that buildings are built with superior design and components. In particular, the air-tightness requirements are extremely high, using fresh air and heat recovery to heat the building. NG Bailey was involved during the design process to ensure the build-ability and highest possible standards of insulation, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and innovative heating technology. We also helped deliver a design without any thermal bridges. Low energy design features include occupancy-sensing ventilation control, heat recovery from exhaust air, and local user heating controls to provide a limited boost in low temperatures. We were delighted when Montgomery School was certified as the UK's first zero-carbon Passivhaus school earlier this year.

	Adnams Distribution Centre, Suffolk Consultant: Hoare Lea Brief:  To design a sustainable distribution centre with a long life expectancy, incorporating efficient energy systems and passive design to ensure low energy usage. The building stores bottled and casked beers and incorporates an office area and vehicle workshop. The total area is 4,400m2 Championing Sustainability: Hoare Lea worked with the architect and client to ensure a coordinated approach to low energy design and the integration of pioneering techniques. Lime Hemp Blockwork Construction The building is the largest constructed from lime hemp in the UK. The embodied energy from this material is 10% of a comparable concrete block. It is effectively carbon negative as the hemp absorbs carbon as it is grown, while lime mortar and render absorbs carbon dioxide as it sets. Construction sequestrated approximately 150 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere. Traditional construction would have released 600 tonnes of CO2. 750 tonnes of carbon were therefore saved from release. Thermal mass The overriding sustainable objective was to passively reduce the building’s heating and cooling requirement.  All walls are exposed and finished with a lime hemp render. The green roof provides additional mass, whilst remaining effective in preventing heat transfer. Minimal solar gain The glazed south façade maximizes daylight. To prevent overheating it is completely shaded during summer using vertical solar sails. Solar water heating Hot water is provided by a solar collector gas boiler system with integrated water storage and solar collectors mounted on the roof.  Water collection Rainwater collected from the roof is stored in a 35,000 litre underground tank for toilet flushing, irrigation and the vehicle wash. The wash is a prodigious user of water. To minimise supply, 60% is reclaimed and 40% comes from the rainwater harvesting tank. Green sedum roof This provides solar shading of the building’s roof during summer, reducing solar gain and helping to maintain the internal temperature. Airtight construction An air tightness of 3.2 m³/h/m² at 50 Pa, has been achieved, minimising unwanted infiltration and energy loss. Natural ventilation The open plan office has opening windows along the south façade. Embodied energy Lime hemp and glulam beams reduced the need for steel and concrete. PVC and materials emitting high VOCs were minimised. Local environment Its location within a disused gravel pit and the green roof minimise the building’s impact. Local contractors were employed, reducing carbon emissions associated with transport and helping to sustain the local economy. The centre has created employment, while reducing HGV movements into Southwold. Building Performance Electricity and gas usage and internal temperature have been monitored during the first year of occupation. The monitored data shows that the building performs well against good practice benchmarks for gas and electricity.

	Scottish Natural Heritage Corporate Office, Inverness Consultant: URS Corporation Background/brief: In 2003, Scottish ministers announced the relocation of Scottish Natural Heritage’s main functions from Edinburgh to Inverness. This was followed by a tendering process to construct the new corporate office in the Highland capital. URS was part of the successful bid team, consisting of the developer Robertson Group Ltd., Stirling, who with their construction arm, Robertson Construction (Northern) Ltd, designed and built the new headquarters. URS was project Sustainability Advisor and provided a range of sustainability advice and guidance services. Championing sustainability: From the outset the client demanded the highest standards in design and sustainability and Scottish Natural Heritage assigned a full URS team to monitor the developer’s proposals and construction works. The building design is a three storey office unit with open plan offices, two on each floor with meeting rooms and centre core support facilities. An atrium of the full three storey height gives reception, display and relaxed meeting facilities. The building has superb views on the Beauly and Moray Firths over the city of Inverness, towards the hills of the ‘Black Isle’ beyond. URS provided the following services: Sustainability Advisor; Energy Advisor; Building Modelling (Thermal); Natural Ventilation Guidance & Modelling; Daylight & Glare Control, Guidance & Modelling; Design & Construction Environmental Compliance; Materials Guidance. The building benefits from natural ventilation throughout with exception of IT server area and summertime cooling by night time cooling and thermal mass floors as well as an internal space carbon dioxide monitoring and control system The library has a Sedam roof to enhance the environment Glare controls give optimum Lux levels at all times defined for each space, together with glare control sails within the atrium design The building has solar hot water by 'evacuated tube' solar collectors Rainwater is harvested to supply all WCs and planting use - this has spare capacity for external irrigation and vehicle wash  There are integrated daylight and lighting controls  Ecologically and environmentally designed parking facilities Bat housing for the site bat colonies (transferred during construction) Fully operative Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS) with a nature and wildlife supporting pond system All materials within construction met the Green Guide for Specification or, on submission, were approved by Building Research Establishment (BRE) material team to the same standards A pond feature was constructed around the library to enhance the ecology and natural environment of the areas surrounding the building Full cyclist facilities and links to public cycle paths alongside the site on the Craig Dunain cycle route. The Scottish Natural Heritage office has been awarded the highest ever design and procurement BREEAM rating in the UK for environmental buildings. The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) is the construction industry benchmark for sustainable buildings. The SNH building achieved a score of 84%, the highest ever score achieved by any building in the UK since the system was introduced.

	A21 Lamberhurst Bypass, Kent Consultant: URS Corporation Background/brief: URS was contractor’s designer for May Gurney Construction for the 2.5km dual carriageway Lamberhurst bypass scheme in Kent. Procured as a design and build contract, URS Corporation was responsible for preparing detailed design. Championing sustainability: The project was conducted in an area designated a national Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Kent County Council Special Landscape Area. Much of the village of Lamberhurst is also a Conservation Area and so the project design had to be sensitive to these factors. The scheme includes construction of three bridges, a river diversion and flood mitigation works, extensive ecological mitigation, archaeological rescue and landscaping works and 0.7 km on line improvements.  The scheme is distinguished by a unique feature, and a first for the Highways Agency, with the construction of the “Landbridge” over the new bypass. The landbridge has been landscaped and planted with trees and shrubs in sympathy with the natural environment. This bridge will maintain the historic access to the National Trust’s Scotney Castle Gardens and Park for future generations and provides a safe corridor for wildlife across the bypass. URS also had an engineering and environmental team on site to provide technical advice, ensure compliance with the design and to manage liaison with third parties and the public. Since the opening, approximately two-thirds of the trunk road traffic – over 16,000 vehicles a day - are now using the bypass, instead of the picturesque village of Lamberhurst. This has reduced delays and congestion, and improved the quality of life for residents. The scheme was also chosen as a pilot project for the Design for Maintenance (D4M) initiative. A paper was presented about this pilot scheme at Highways Agency ‘Design for Maintenance’ seminar in January 2006.

	Kincardine Eastern Link Road Consultant: Tony Gee & Partners (TGP) Background/ brief: The village of Kincardine-on-Forth in Fife, Scotland, was founded in1663 on reclaimed marshland. Over time it developed into a river port trading in salt and a centre of shipbuilding and quarrying. The existing Kincardine Bridge carrying the A876 from Fife to the M876 and M9 motorways in Falkirk is the furthest downstream crossing of the River Forth. Since its opening in 1936 a significant increase in traffic volume in the area has caused many problems to local residents such as community severance, road accidents, traffic noise, air pollution and vibration. TGP considered a number of options to alleviate these problems that would also respect the ecology of the Forth Estuary and the Eastern Link Road was the first phase of the chosen solution - a wider initiative including a second upstream Forth crossing planned for completion in 2008. TGP undertook the detailed design of the Kincardine Eastern Link Road on behalf of contractor RJ McLeod.   Championing sustainability: The success of such an environmentally sensitive scheme would be dependant on developing a conceptual design that would satisfy the requirements of statutory bodies and minimise disruption to local residents.  The design and build contract, to the value of £12 million, incorporated a large diameter culvert and pumping station beneath the Stirling Alloa Kincardine railway line. At 2.2km in length and up to three lanes wide the new bypass crosses land that was previously occupied by the river and beneath which extensive coal extraction had taken place. Extensive grouting of the sub-surface coal seams beneath the carriageway and associated junctions was necessary to mitigate surface instability and migration of voids. TGP developed a three-dimensional model of the structural-geology to locate and optimise the extent of mine infilling.   Some 7350 holes were drilled and over 80,000m³ of cementitious grout injected, 94% of which was PFA.  250,000 tonnes of this lightweight, moisture susceptible, material were also used in the construction of the embankments. The material was sourced from the lagoons at the nearby Longannet Generating Station thus recycling industrial waste material and reducing lorry movements on the public road network. Further, some 85,000 sq m of material was excavated and retained on site to form noise attenuation bunds and to enhance the landscaping slopes. The route of the carriageway also crosses a soft alluvial floodplain where large settlements were expected. During the early stages of the contract, a trial embankment was constructed and instrumentation installed to monitor pore pressure dissipation in the underlying strata. Using the data collected, TGP’s geotechnical engineers were able to optimise the design of the embankment foundations that were to be constructed, and eliminate the need for band drains that are typically used to accelerate consolidation in soft ground conditions. The highway was constructed almost totally on the new embankments which were designed to be constructed from a combination of PFA and localised areas of reinforced soil. By capping this with spent oil shale, another bi-product of local industrial activity, the risk of the material being rendered unsuitable during the wet winter months was eradicated. As the line of the road leaves the flood plain it crosses the line of an old sea wall. Here, a geocell mattress was designed to re-distribute loads and mitigate the effects of the change from soft to harder ground conditions. Extensive consultation with environmental bodies was necessary due to the close proximity of a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). Surface water run-off and excess from the flooded mine workings was contained in temporary settlement ponds and ditches until the permanent drainage system was fully operational. This consists of filter drains which remove some 80% of pollutants then water is passed through a further interceptor chamber before being pumped through a rising main, pipe jacked under a railway, into the River Forth. Two new signal controlled junctions formed a fundamental part of the scheme, which has successfully reduced traffic through Kincardine village by up to 80% and by some 40% on the North Approach Road. Environmental improvement works also include the provision of barriers and landscaping, to reduce traffic noise, and a wetland area to accommodate aquatic lifeforms. Improvements for cyclists and equestrians were also provided. A new cycleway, part of the national network, runs over approximately half of the route, together with a parallel bridleway. The visual impact of the cutting and embankment slopes were softened by a combination of flattened landscape slopes, tree planting and hedging. Noise mitigation measures also formed part of scheme. The accomplishments of the project illustrate the advantages of having a non-adversarial partnering approach to putting together an integrated design and construction planning team.  The project team worked closely together during the tender period and at detailed design and construction stages, providing material and construction methods that fulfilled the technical requirements of the design and minimised construction impacts and costs. During the official opening of the Eastern Link Road, Scottish transport minister Nicol Stephen described the delivery of the scheme as a ‘great achievement’ and said the new link road was a vitally important first step in delivering significant improvements to the economic regeneration of the area.

	National Museum of Science and Technology, Wroughton Consultant: Novarama Background/brief: The National Museum of Science and Technology (NMSI) specified that their new 47,154 sqm National Collection Centre (NCC) at Wroughton must be carbon-neutral. The challenge faced by the engineers, was how to maintain the tight environmental conditions demanded by conservators the world over, without huge reliance on energy-guzzling air conditioning systems. Novarama principal, Darren Ball, working on behalf of international consultants WSP Energy, developed the solution using bespoke computer simulation software not commercially available.  Championing sustainability: Annual energy consumption was cut by almost £1 million before the application of renewable energy sources – this significantly reduced the capital cost of providing a carbon-neutral site. Control of Relative Humidity (RH) is crucial to the conservation of many museum collections. If the RH is too low, hygroscopic materials will become brittle whilst high RH causes mould growth, rusting of ferrous materials and degradation of magnetic media. Even if RH is kept within otherwise acceptable minima and maxima, rapid short-cycle fluctuations cause stresses, fatigue and ultimate failure of hygroscopic materials. Since the 20th century, museums have progressively come to rely on air-conditioning as a means of maintaining conditions. Whilst this can often be justified where the exhibits are on show, if it were necessary for those in storage, we wouldn’t have any ancient collections left to preserve. The NCC’s temperature was stabilised using high thermal mass, lighting controls and effective zoning of the collections - but that still left the more pressing issue of RH control. The moisture content of outside air varies significantly throughout the annual cycle, and as it infiltrates the repository it will affect the internal RH. No matter how well sealed the repository, some infiltration and vapour diffusion would be inevitable, and the store would swing with seasonal variations at the very least. The solution was to use sacks of sodium bentonite clay, working in concert with the timber racking and hygroscopic collections, to stabilise the conditions using no energy for dehumidification whatsoever. Sodium bentonite is capable of absorbing 7 to 10 times its own weight in water, and swelling up to 18 times its dry volume. There are no proprietary models to calculate this effect, so we developed a bespoke model using the absorption characteristic of hygroscopic materials, to predict what would happen.  The model would be accurate provided there were no sudden step-changes. The RH still exceeds the 65% target maximum, but not for long enough for mould growth and not fast enough to stress the collections. The RH can be capped to 65%, or even 60%, with gentle solar-powered heating – in which case the peak summer store temperature would not exceed 21.5d degrees Celsius.   The benefits are: Energy cost savings of almost £1million per year. No expensive air conditioning to install or maintain Renewable energy supplies for the overall site are greatly reduced in size, making them cheaper, less obtrusive and more likely to receive planning consent. Novarama work in all sectors, but the approach is always the same:  Reduce demand to its practical minimum before considering renewable energy supplies  Look for the unique opportunities in each project as well as the catch-all solutions

	Jersey waste management plans Consultant: Peter Brett Associates Background/ brief: Jersey, being an island, has very limited scope for waste disposal. Traditionally waste is either incinerated at the local energy from waste site or disposed of within controversial landfill/land reclamation sites e.g. the St. Helier waterfront which underwent reclamation in the mid 1980s. Jersey residents are concerned that such schemes not only affect the visual characteristic of a town but also damage the coastal environment and ecology, key attributes affecting tourism. These concerns have triggered fundamental changes in attitudes towards waste and have led to fast-track changes in policy, some years ahead of mainland UK. These policies were introduced in the amended Jersey Island Plan, published in 2002. Since the publication of the amended plan, in order to obtain planning consent, any development involving the demolition of major structures or the removal of significant quantities of waste material is required to identify the means by which the waste material is to be re-used, recycled or disposed of either within or off the site. This information is then recorded within a waste management plan which is incorporated within a specification passed on as an employer's requirement to the proposed demolition/main contractor. Championing sustainability:  Peter Brett Associates (PBA) has been credited with producing the first waste management plan, working in conjunction with the local planning and environmental committee, creating the ‘prototype’ report. PBA have since been commissioned to produce further waste management plans in Jersey for four new clients.  Added value has been provided by expanding the brief for these reports from not only recommending opportunities for demolition waste, but also advising on new sustainable building techniques.

	Water’s Edge, Barton-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire Consultant: Scott Wilson Background/ brief: The Water’s Edge Waterside Centre at has been awarded one of the highest rating in an environmental assessment The Centre received a 73.9% rating in BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) testing because of its effective energy efficiency and minimisation of carbon dioxide emissions. The centre stands on a site that has been used by industry for over 100 years and was designed not only to reclaim the land but also to demonstrate environmental sustainability. It is curved with a South Eastern orientation to catch natural warmth and light, is naturally ventilated and will incorporate a wind turbine and photovoltaics as renewable energy sources. The site, which is on the south side of the River Humber, was used up until the mid 1980s as a fertilizer and chemical factory, which resulted in significant ground contamination. Reclamation works on the 86 acres (348,000 sq m) site, which is adjacent to the Barrow Barton clay pit SSSI site, began in 1998 Championing sustainability: Regeneration of brownfield land from industrial buildings to a high performing sustainable building, designed to consider the sensitive surrounding environment. Passive solar design through orientation, natural ventilation and good daylight performance, supported by energy efficiency measures such as a significant improvement in insulation levels upon Building Regulations, movement and daylight sensors, sub metering and thermal zoning to control heat loads. Specification of low environmental impact materials such as roofs and floor finishes, identified as A rated in the ‘Green Guide to Specification’ Carbon neutral biomass boilers provides the heating load with the majority of the energy demand made up by photovoltaics and wind turbines, intelligently controlled through a Building Management System (BMS) Cyclist storage and facilities are provided to reduce carbon associated transportation. Water saving devices are specified throughout including dual flush toilets, rain water collection and reed bed filtration of on site grey water. Ecological enhancement measures as recommended by a registered ecologist include ongoing bird monitoring and extensive habitat creation.

	Woodberry Down, Hackney, London Consultant: Scott Wilson Background/ brief: Woodberry Down is one of the largest estate regeneration projects in London.  At present, the estate is almost wholly Council housing - with 1,980 homes in extremely poor condition. Woodberry Down ranks within the 3% most deprived areas in England. Community facilities are completely inadequate and poorly geared to the needs of the local community, which has a wide ranging ethnic base. A new city academy, primary school, health centre, children’s centre, community centre, youth club, business centre and local shops are planned to support the 10,000 strong community. A huge effort has gone into involving local people, with ongoing workshops and organised events. A detailed Masterplan is to accompany an outline planning application, complete with an Environmental Statement and a Sustainable Design and Construction Statement.  Particular focus has been placed on the energy demand assessment and appraisal of renewables feasibility, in accordance with the Mayors Energy Strategy to meet the current obligation of 10% on site demand. Championing sustainability: Energy demand, renewables and district heating studies identified that Woodberry Down will achieve a 20% reduction in carbon footprint compared to that of the existing site, at the same time as more than doubling the population density. Detailed community consultation carried out, including sustainability aspects such energy, materials recycling and biodiversity. Development of a sustainable design and construction strategy: to appraise the Masterplan against sustainable development requirements as outlined via national, regional and local policy to identify the aspirations of Hackney Housing Services, the design team and the community to promote high levels of sustainable design and construction and ensure these principles are considered at the earliest possible stage of design to set a framework against which subsequent detailed planning applications will be assessed. Key features of the residential buildings will include, passive design through orientation and layout, consideration of daylight and overshadowing and natural ventilation. Energy efficiency measures such as external shading measures, zoning of lighting, shutoff devices, energy sub-metering and excellent insulation levels will be provided throughout. Other sustainability features will include green roofs and permeable paving to reduce surface water runoff to reduce the subsequent risk of flooding.  Biodiversity will be enhanced across the site and innovative approaches will be adopted in respect to waste, materials and recycling. EcoHomes workshop identified a minimum requirement of ‘Very Good’ with an aspiration to achieve ‘Excellent’ rating throughout the development. Equivalent BREEAM ratings would be achieved for commercial buildings on the site. A commitment to meet all of the Mayors essential standards and a significant proportion of the Mayors preferred standards as outlined in the Supplementary Planning Guidance on sustainable design and construction. Key Performance Indicators identified for energy, waste, materials and water, to be conditioned as part of the detailed application and reviewed in accordance with the phasing of the site over a 20 year period.

	Ruislip High School Consultant: Scott Wilson Background/ brief: Scott Wilson were contracted to undertake a range of services for Ruislip High School, including Sustainable Construction advice, and Mechanical, Electrical & Acoustic design and analysis.   The proposed development comprises the conversion of playing fields for the construction of a new high school in Ruislip for Hillingdon Borough Council.  Championing sustainability: An exposed concrete soffit was included with roof exhaust fans to exploit the cooling potential of the thermal mass of the material.  Through thermal simulation and analysis of the building demonstrated that the proposed natural ventilation system would be effective to produce comfortable conditions for the students within the structure.   The building is also proposed to include a green roof, increasing the ecological value of the site. Saw tooth rooflights over the central corridors of the three finger buildings extending from the main structure were designed to allow natural daylight to penetrate to the lower levels through perforations in the corridor floors.  Daylight simulation and analysis also showed that the recommended 2% daylight factor could be achieved to classrooms with standard glazing specifications.

	Defra Agency HQ Building Consultant: Scott Wilson Background/ brief: Scott Wilson were asked to undertake a range of Sustainable Construction and daylighting, thermal & acoustic analyses and advice services for the proposed DEFRA Agency Headquarters Building, VLA Building 33 in Weybridge, Surrey, UK.  Scott Wilson’s Sustainable Construction Team are currently working as Sustainability Advisers to the Design & Build contractor for the construction of the new 4500m2 HQ office building for an agency of the Dept. for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (name of agency withheld).  As DEFRA are the Central Government’s principle agency for the implementation of the Government’s Sustainable Development Action Plan, the building in Weybridge, Surrey is to be an exemplar in sustainable construction. Championing sustainability: Scott Wilson provided advice to the design team to ensure a BREEAM Excellent was an achievable headline target The site was previously built upon but over 70% of the existing building was recovered and recycled. The new building is a low carbon design including use of Termodeck as the principle means of heating/cooling, reducing energy use and therefore carbon emissions. Scott Wilson provided renewable energy advice and as a result the building generates 10% it energy from embedded renewable energy Sustainable materials are specified throughout including certified sustainable timber, zero ODP & low GWP refrigerants and Insulants.  Low water use sanitary fittings were specified throughout the building ensuring a water consumption of no more than 3m3/person/year The ecological value of the site was enhanced by the incorporation of a “Green roof”

	University of London College Hall, London Consultant: Jacobs Babtie Background/brief: The University of London contracted Jacobs Babtie to construct a new accommodation wing along with the refurbishment of a Listed Georgian Terrace Championing sustainability: The scheme was designed to achieve a ‘very good’ BREEAM environmental rating with low energy and water usage  Access to the site by pedestrians and cycles only, reducing the number of vehicles in the area and subsequent air and noise pollution.   Lighting levels have been optimised to provide maximum security whilst minimising energy usage and light pollution via the selection of energy efficient fittings. Rainwater drains to landscaped areas have been incorporated to reduce the consumption of potable water. Windows and doors have been refurbished and ‘Ventrola’ draught protection has been provided for the Georgian Terraces. A district heating system reduces the use of fans, boilers and gas burners thus reducing energy costs and operational resources Refrigerants that do not deplete the ozone layer have been specified as part of the design. Dedicated recyclable bins have been introduced to reduce landfill waste The design and construction programme for the project was developed to minimise the impact of light, dust, noise or vibration pollution resulting from the works, or the completed facility. Carbon emissions have been minimised by the use of natural ventilation wherever possible.

	Project Aquatrine Appraisal. Consultant: Carl Bro Background/brief: Carl bro, along with strategic partners Quest Future Solutions, was contracted by the Ministry of Defence to undertake a Sustainability Assessment of Project Aquatrine. Project Aquatrine is the MoD’s Public Funded Initiative (PFI) project to transfer the delivery of waste and water services to the private sector. It is one of the MoD’s largest PFIs, worth over £1bn. Championing sustainability: The sustainability appraisal was required as part of the MoD’s commitment to the government’s strategy for sustainable development and focused on strategic issues and management processes. Carl Bro and Quest developed a bespoke appraisal methodology incorporating the use of sustainability indices within the MoD’s own appraisal system. The sustainability appraisal captured all the management and technical issues of the project. It monitors the degree to which each issue accords with sustainable development principles.  This also identified opportunities where further sustainability improvements were possible.

	Tower Works, Leeds Consultant: Carl Bro Background/brief: Carl Bro worked with Yorkshire Forward on the preparation of the development brief that will lead to the redevelopment of the Tower Works site on the Globe Road in Leeds. Carl Bro were  commissioned to ensure that the brief inspired development partners to come forward with plans for the delivery of Tower Works as a major catalyst in the social and economic regeneration of the Holbeck Urban Quarter and as the gateway to the Holbeck Urban Village. Championing sustainability: The project is a potential flagship development that will promote the use of exemplar standards or urban renaissance and sustainable development in the region.  Their brief introduced innovative ideas for urban renewal and sustainability that pooled the disciplines of urban design, sustainable construction and project appraisal. Technical skills included sustainable construction and materials usage, energy efficiency, water and waste management. All of the design principles and sustainable development standards are compatible with the RSDF and will help deliver a sustainable community on the site. This will lead to the legacy of the Tower Works site playing a pivotal role in the development of Holbeck Urban Village as a truly sustainable community. Sustainable development is at the core of the project.

	OpTIC Centre, St Asaph, North Wales Consultant: URS Corporation Background/brief: The Welsh Development Agency (WDA) is a leading enabler for business and innovation in Wales. The area around St Asaphs is a centre of excellence for research in opto-electronics. In order to maintain this global pre-eminence, the WDA wanted to provide a state-of-the-art research facility, accessible to those emerging companies and individuals that will become future leaders in the field. Championing sustainability: URS’s solution was driven by the combination of striking architectural forms and innovative leading edge sustainable building design. URS was responsible for the development of sustainable features including natural ventilation, a photovoltaic installation and rain water harvesting.  URS carried out Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methods (BREEAM) assessments. The OpTIC Centre was awarded the prestigious Sustainable Building of 2005 (Large Project) by Building magazine. The Centre has also been awarded the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Award for Sustainability (Wales) The Centre was shortlisted for the National RICS Sustainability award.

	New Air Traffic Control Centre, Prestwick, Scotland Consultant: Jacobs Background/brief: The National Air Traffic Services chose Jacobs to act as an over all Project Manager for delivery of their New Prestwick Air Traffic Control facility in Scotland which provides a critical development in the future of air traffic control in the UK. Leading a joint team of over 40 professional and technical staff the Jacobs project management team was responsible for the day to day running and ultimate delivery of the project. Championing sustainability: Many of the elements relating to BREEAM assessment were incorporated in the design.   The location of the facility on the existing Prestwick Air Traffic Control Centre site was chosen to maximise the potential for existing staff located locally to work at the new facility so minimising the growth of traffic to and from the building.   Provision is made for cycles and motorcycles and easy pedestrian access from the adjacent housing areas also to help restrict travel. The site masterplanning maximises the areas of natural habitat for wildlife and provision made in the fencing for the local fox and badger communities. The existing burn around the site has been maintained as a natural surface water system, the additional increase in water run-off being controlled through a series of on-site swales and balancing / soakage ponds.   This provides a ‘SUDS’ approach. (Sustainable Urban Drainage System) which is an integrated ecological system ensuring that the chance of flooding is minimised both on and off the site. The building format minimises operational travel distances by compact and functional planning of control and support service areas arranged around the perimeter.   The specification takes into account whole life environmental implications minimising energy use in the manufacturing process, operation and recycling of the majority of the materials at the disposal stage of the project. The arrangement of the building reduces the apparent mass of the building to minimise the impact on neighbouring sites and to relate more sensitively to the open context.  Through a combination of landscape and architectural design working in unison the proposal reduces the apparent volume of the support accommodation and integrates it into the landscape.

	Diamond Synchrotron Facility, Harwell Consultant: Jacobs Background/brief: The facility is a state of the art electron accelerator for the production of synchrotron light. The main building is a 235m dia. toroid with the primary experimental hall supported by laboratories and offices arranged around the perimeter.  The central synchrotron area is extremely stable both structurally and environmentally to sustain precise machine function. The facility gives the client the most powerful and most focused light source currently available in Europe. Championing sustainability: The design minimises impact on the visual environment by careful integration of the building mass into the undulating landscape scheme.    To avoid impact on surrounding neighbours the major plant is located at the central courtyard of the ‘annular’ shaped building allowing the main building to screen the neighbours from the noise created by the plant. Acoustic prediction, assessment and surveys have been carried out to support this approach. Cycle routes, cycle parking and showers are provided to encourage staff to travel by environmentally friendly transport.   The buildings themselves utilise passive energy controlling measures to assist in the reduction of wastage and operational costs. The large expanses of hard surfaces and roof mean that the rate of flow from surface water will increase in flash flood conditions. To avoid overloading the existing drainage systems a series of long swales around the synchrotron and balancing / soakage ponds have been designed to slow down the rate of water flow and through soakage, reduce the amount of water before the minimal excess is discharged at an acceptable rate.  This Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS) approach replicates as close as possible the natural flow of water back down through the earth. The selection of materials was carried out with consideration to the effect on the environment during pollution, use and disposal.  Issues were considered such as toxic pollutants, emissions, resources, waste generation and recycling. The site had been left in a derelict state since the 1950’s and the reuse of it uncovered a number of issues. The site had been overgrown and now supports some special plants including rare grasses and a rare orchid. Care has been exercised in protecting the areas where the orchid has established itself and the seeds and soils around the rare grasses have been harvested and will be replanted as part of the mounded landscape design. Leaving the majority of the site landscape in a similar form to the existing grassland has preserved the wild life on the site. The fabric of the building has been designed to meet the insulation and air permeability requirements of the new Part L of the Building Regulations. The areas of glazing in the building fabric have been maintained at below the cut-off for a Carbon emissions calculation to be required. High performance glass has been specified to help the U-value and to reduce the solar gain. All support office and laboratories that do not require the close control required for the central function of the synchrotron itself are naturally ventilated and protected from the effects of the external environment by solar control louvres outside the building.   To provide internal environmental control within the deep atrium footprint, an innovative plenum floor supply and plenum ceiling extract high volume air ventilation system delivers the equivalent of natural ventilation to the unusual building configuration. The 3-storey atrium at the centre of the building utilises the stack effect created to help return the air to the roof top plant room. The result is a low energy solution to a building configuration that would normally require air-conditioning.

	Park Lane College, Leeds Consultant: Jacobs Background/brief: Allenbuild contracted Jacobs to significantly expand and improve the educational facilities at Park Lane in Leeds. A new college entrance block and a six storey teaching building were specified to accommodate increasing student intake. Construction would take place in a live, student-occupied environment. Championing sustainability: The main building is designed to achieve a high BREEAM environmental rating with low energy usage. Highly insulated walls and floors have been incorporated and photovoltaic panels occupy an entire elevation The seven storey teaching block incorporates energy efficient measures such as solar cells, high level insulation and heat recovery.  The entrance building which was constructed in a phased manner allowing access by students and staff during operation.  It too was built using the same standards of design The building includes an innovative roof that contributes to insulation, absorbs CO2 and eases rain water run off. Natural materials are incorporated in the building structure to minimise environmental impact, including a timber rain screen on three elevations with materials procured from environmentally managed sources.  The Park Lane project collected a 2004 RICS Pro Yorkshire Award in the Design and Innovation Category. The awards celebrate initiatives in land property, construction and the environment.

	City University School of Social and Human Sciences, London Consultant: Jacobs Background/brief: Jacobs were contracted to demolish the existing Connaught Building and design and construct a new building on the site to provide teaching and research accommodation. The new building would be a landmark development on a prominent site, providing flexible office and teaching space and research facilities over eight floors. Championing sustainability: The building services were designed to complement the architecture aesthetically and minimise energy consumption while providing a comfortable internal environment. The atrium is used as a return path for the warm air taking advantage of the stack effect. Warm return air stratifies at high level in the atrium before being extracted at roof level increasing heat recovery effectiveness. The need for no return air ductwork leads to a reduction in fan power consumption by approximately 25%. Comfort cooling of spaces is achieved using an elevated temperature chilled water circuit to serve the beams which allows ‘free cooling’ to be achieved throughout the majority of the academic year. This will lead to an energy saving of approximately 30% over a traditional system. Windows can be opened at any time by the occupants. Sensors fixed to each window shut the control valves to the chilled beams avoiding unnecessary energy wastage. Fabric heat losses are offset using combined heating/chilled beams at the perimeter fed with low temperature hot water generated by high efficiency condensing boilers.  Flow temperatures to heating beams are maintained as low as possible to maximise condensing of the flue vapours and hence efficiency. The use of chilled beams has allowed an integrated approach to servicing with high frequency, low energy, T5 light fittings installed in beams in most spaces. An intelligent programmable lighting control system further decreases energy consumption through switching of fittings via occupancy sensors. Over a traditional lighting system, this approach led to an energy consumption reduction of approximately 20%. Jacobs were sensitive to the needs of a low noise design for teaching spaces and extra low noise for acoustic laboratories. Quiet forms of construction were adopted as the building is located directly adjacent to a primary school, other university buildings and private residential accommodation.  Vibration-less construction was considered as part of this exercise. Heat is purged from the structure via overnight ventilation during the summer months.  The result is that the space is cool by morning and capable of absorbing daily heat gain.

	Green Park Wind Turbine, Reading Consultant: Hoare Lea Background/brief: The brief was to design an impressive icon for a sustainable future. At 127m tall, the 2MW state-of-the-art Ecotricity turbine is one of the largest land-based wind turbines in the UK. Only one in ten people in the UK have seen a wind turbine in action, the sight of which encourages people to think about their use of energy, the environment and climate change. The objective was to provide building design flexibility anticipating change in environment legislation including PPS 22 and the Mayor’s Energy Strategy in relation to the application of site based renewable energy. Championing sustainability: The wind turbine fits into the business park environment and deals responsibly with “local” carbon remediation rather than industrialising the rural landscape. Carbon emissions in operating the buildings have been substantially reduced.  It takes maximum benefit of the moderate mean annual wind speed at its location. The turbine features state-of-the-art blade technology for maximum efficiency. The gearless turbine makes for quiet operation. Any noise is masked by the traffic passing on the nearby M4.  The turbine will generate 4.5m kWh of electricity equivalent to supplying 1500 homes whilst saving 3,018 tonnes of carbon dioxide, 35 tonnes of sulphur dioxide and 11 tonnes of nitrous oxide per annum. The turbine will be seen by as many as 60 million people a year as they transit the busy junction 11 of the M4 and will help to raise public awareness of environmental issues.

	Red Kite House, Environment Agency HQ, Oxfordshire Consultant: Hoare Lea Background/brief: The Environment Agency wanted a low energy, sustainable exemplar building for their headquarters that exceeded Good Practice performance benchmarks whilst exhibiting a strong aesthetic character and achieving a minimum BREEAM “excellent” status. Championing sustainability: Hoare Lea’s design for Red Kite House achieves BREEAM “excellent” status – even before taking into account the renewable energy contribution.  Energy efficiency measures have been built into the building including condensing boilers, variable speed pumping, air to air heat recovery,  High efficiency motors and PIR/daylight sensing luminaires minimise carbon emissions in heating, lighting and ventilation systems Passive design to maximise natural ventilation and cooling Built-in renewable energy – solar water heating panels in the roof, photo-voltaic cells on the south side will generate electricity, thus reducing carbon emissions Rainwater harvesting system collects run off from roof for re-use.  Car park surface made from previous blocks reducing the impact of surface run-off on river systems.

	Beaufort Court, Kings Langley Consultant: Max Fordham Background/brief: Max Fordham was contracted by Renewable Energy Systems Ltd to develop a picturesque former Ovaltine egg farm into energy-integrated offices and a visitor centre. The main building was renovated and extended, and a new building was constructed to house elements of the integrated energy system. Surrounding agricultural land is used for energy crops such as short rotation coppice willow to fuel wood-burning boilers. Championing sustainability: The energy centre roof includes integrated combination PV and thermal panels, the heat from which is used to preheat the incoming ventilation air to the offices.  In summer, excess heat is stored in a 1100m3 polystyrene insulated lid and used to preheat incoming fresh air. The energy centre houses wood-burning boilers and solid-fuel handling equipment. Solar energy penetrating the buildings via roof lights heats the space over the summer and dries out the wood thus increasing its calorific value when it is burned in the winter. Heat from the boilers also provides top-up heat for the offices and exhibition centre.  The PV array on the roof and a wind turbine on-site supply meet all of the site’s electricity needs. Excess electricity is exported to the grid. Ground water is used to cool incoming air during the summer months. Ground water is also passed through passive cooling panel elements in the ceiling.  It has won the following awards: 2004 Regeneration Awards Innovation of the year; 2004 British Council of Offices Awards Best Refurbishment. The building was short listed for the 2004 RIBA Sustainability Award.

	Oakgrove Millennium Community, Milton Keynes Consultant: White Young Green Background/brief: White Young Green was commissioned by English Partnerships, the government’s national regeneration agency, to assist in the preparation of a developer’s brief and masterplan for the proposed Oakgrove Millennium Community. The aim is to provide scaled housing options and a combination of retail, leisure and small light-industrial premises located at the village centre under the themes of quality of life, sustainability, high quality design and innovation. Oakgrove will be the seventh Millennium village in the UK - following the 1997 launch of the initiative to encourage sustainable residential developments that will set a new benchmark in the standard of housing design and construction. Championing sustainability: White Young Green provided expert guidance on issues relating to landscape and urban design, the visual impact of construction, transport, ecology, drainage, geotechnical and contamination, air quality and noise, sustainability, planning and socio-economic requirements.  Sustainability targets for the developer to meet were outlined. White Young Green detailed the current best practice in eco-housing development through reference to key guidance documents. Used appropriate sustainability assessment tools including BREEAM and EcoHomes to assess the works. Assisted with the presentation of proposals and produced an interactive computer model including a 3D “fly round” view of the site to outline the main constraints.