Termodeck building awarded highest ever BREEAM score
Client: Innovate Property
Architect: Rio Architects
Sustainability Engineers: King Shaw Associates
Building Services Engineers: King Shaw Associates
Building and Performance Analysis: IES Consulting
Project Manager: Mirus Management Services
Cost Consultant: Mirus Management Services
Contractor: GMI Construction
Completed: 2007
A Winner of Environmental Initiative of the Year - Building Services Awards 2007
See Building Services Awards website
Green Building of the Year - Green Construction Awards 2007
See Green Construction website
A newly constructed commercial building in Leeds has been awarded the highest ever BREEAM rating - 87.55% - by utilising the high thermal mass of structural hollowcore concrete.
The Innovate Properties-owned building has been designed as a thermal store and constructed using TermoDeck, Tarmac's innovative energy-efficient heating, cooling and ventilation system which uses concrete hollowcore flooring slabs to circulate fresh air.
According to calculations undertaken by King Shaw Associates, a leading building services and environmental consultancy, the new building will produce just 22kg of carbon dioxide per m2 per year and will emit 80% less carbon than a conventional model office building. These savings will equate to a reduction of more than 350 tonnes of carbon per annum and a projected financial saving for Innovate Properties of £14.16 per square meter each year.
The TermoDeck system works in conjunction with controlled mechanical ventilation to maximise the heat exchange between the structure and the interior environment. In winter, heat recovery air-handling units will collect heat gains from people and computers and store them in the TermoDeck to heat the incoming air.
In the summer months, the building will use cool night air and a small amount of mechanical refrigeration from a CHP plant to store cooling energy in the TermoDeck system.
Doug King, principal, King Shaw Associates said: "The choice of TermoDeck was key for this scheme. The developer did not want to rely on natural ventilation alone as it thought that the market risk would be too great. The building was therefore designed as a giant heat store with a super insulated concrete frame and TermoDeck to provide sufficient thermal mass to minimise the demands on mechanical plant"
"This building is definitive proof that a well-designed, concrete core building that utilises TermoDeck can deliver ground-breaking environmental performance as well as reduced running costs," states Geoff Russell-Smith, general manager of Tarmac TermoDeck. "In recent years, natural ventilation has been seen as the alternative to refrigerant based air conditioning but can't guarantee consistent air flow, good air quality and comfort levels. With severe climatic changes forecast together with increasing noise and air pollution, the TermoDeck system really comes into its own as a viable low energy option to effectively future-proof new buildings," says Russell-Smith.
For more information on TermoDeck request a free product brochure by calling 08456 044 114.
