East Building BREEAM

Construction Case Study

The East Building was a design and build project forming part of the University of Bath's expansion programme, completed in early 2011. It is situated to the north of the Sports Training Village at the University's Claverton Campus. The primary purpose of this building is for use as decant space for academic departments whilst their existing facilities are refurbished.

The building is a 3-storey, 4110 sq m building consisting of a pre-cast concrete frame with single ply and ETFE roof coverings, clad in curtain walling, timber and render. Facilities include a 350 seat lecture theatre, a floor of general teaching accommodation and two floors of open plan office and administrative space.

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East Building Awards

The East Building has won yet more awards, these have been granted from the LABC Building Excellence Awards.The awards comprise of 'Best Sustainable Project' and 'Best Technical Innovation'.

East Building - BREEAM (Article posted in 2009)

The East Building is currently on course for achieving a BREEAM Excellent rating with a target score of approximately 75% under BREEAM Bespoke 2006. BREEAM provides a holistic environmental assessment method, assessing items from low energy and water use, material specification through to transport provision and ecology. Measures to address BREEAM have been incorporated into the scheme from the onset of the design process, to maximise the opportunity in meeting the target rating.

A low energy strategy has been essential in meeting the BREEAM requirement, achieved through a simple building form with a central atrium bringing daylight into the depth of the building and doubling up as a ‘return air path' for the Termodeck heating and ventilation system. Termodeck uses hollow precast concrete floor units as ventilation ducts in addition to forming an exposed soffit, enabling the mass of the units to regulate the internal temperature and reduce extreme fluctuations; thereby significantly reducing carbon emissions and energy use compared to a standard mechanically ventilated or air conditioned building of this type.

Energy use is further reduced through a substantial bank of photovoltaic panels positioned on the roof, offsetting approximately 10% of the carbon emissions of the building. A display meter is positioned in the public area of the building demonstrating to students and staff the efficiency of the building once in operation.

The building fabric utilises elements with ‘U' values significantly below building regulations to form a highly efficient thermal envelope, adding to the low energy strategy. This is combined with components which are selected for their low embodied impact and responsible sourcing, such as cedar shingles cladding the lecture theatre and oak cladding on the main elevations.

Landscaping also plays an important role in meeting the BREEAM rating; with native woodland planting, bird and bat boxes to enhance the ecology of the site, extending the biodiversity habitat of the University Campus and surrounding Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.