Publication of Building Information Case Study
The extension to the Woodbury Building at Bury College
An image of the 5 storey extension to the west wing of the Woodbury building
Basic description of the project and building.
Bury College is a well-established College of Further Education providing accommodation for over
11,000 students and 650 staff. The majority of the College Estate is spread over 3 campuses along
Market Street and has seen regular investment and areas of renewal over the last decade.
The College is currently making further investment under the heading of Estate Strategy Phase 7 and
this has been split across a number of defined Work Packages (WP).
The latest WP will begin in the summer of 2011 and involves the demolition of the College's 'Northern
Lights' building. This will then offer space for both a new building footprint and the temporary
accommodation required during its construction. In the longer term, it will provide space for an
external courtyard in front of the new building.
The proposal for the Woodbury New Build and External Works will create a significant new 5 storey
teaching facility for the College, providing over 3,000m2 of new teaching and IT space, a new
refectory, a conference room and a new area of external social space within a secure external
courtyard.
BREEAM Rating and score
BREEAM Excellent (Current score = 74.3)
The key innovative and low-impact design features of the building
Health and Wellbeing
Day lighting is a pivotal issue with regards to the wellbeing of the building occupants and the layout of
the building has been designed to achieve excellent levels of day lighting in the main teaching areas
by a combination of sensible plan depths and good fenestration design. Views out of the building are
therefore enhanced which gives respite from the indoor environment. The levels of glazing and views
do bring challenges and as such internal blinds and controls will be designed into the building to
ensure user control of daylight.
The design of the facade which offers these levels of daylight also offers the potential for natural
ventilation. Due to internal environmental requirements and external influences such as noise from
the road, the building will be designed with mechanical ventilation and the “potential” for external fresh
air to assist or reduce the reliance on energy. The systems to heat the building and provide adequate
ventilation through mechanical means and through opening windows will be individually controlled for
each space and provide the correct levels of comfort and control. Artificial lighting will provide the
required levels of lighting but will be used to supplement day light and have good levels of manual
control and “smart” control which will detect day light and the presence of occupants.
Energy
In order to reduce the CO2 emissions from the building, the building envelope and services will be
designed to be as efficient as possible and will explore the use of renewable technologies.
Part of the reduction of energy use comes from an understanding of energy use and use patterns. To
accommodate this, the building will have a complex metering system monitored by a Building
Management System which will allow the estates team to record, target and raise energy use
concerns to specific areas of building use.
An increasing proportion of a building’s electricity use has been attributed to the inclusion of lifts within
buildings. Therefore the lifts will be targeted for detailed analysis so that they are specified on the
basis of energy use particular to their use. The resulting design of the building allows for the relatively
heavy construction to freely ventilate during the night/early morning during hotter periods so that day
time temperatures are lower and reliance on mechanical cooling is reduced.
Transport
The proximity to Bury’s major transport interchange and the town centre make the development an
ideal location. Further transport choice opportunities will be introduced by the provision of external
cycle stores and the provision of showers and changing facilities within the building.
Water
Providing potable water is an energy intensive activity and the reduction in its use has been targeted
as a sustainability issue. The college will therefore reduce water use by the specification and
provision of low water use fittings and controls for all the sanitary installations. Further metering of the
water supply and monitoring for leaks will help ensure the efficient use of water whilst external
landscaping will be designed to be reliant on external precipitation.
Materials
The BRE’s Green Guide to Specification has been used as a reference point for design and
specification of all major building elements. All materials used in major building elements will be
responsibly sourced which will ensure that where possible sustainability is embodied into the very
fabric of the development. This objective is also to be applied to the buildings insulation, which must
have low embodied environmental impact in relation to its high thermal properties. Careful attention
will also be paid to the correct specification of materials which are robust and serviceable for their
application which reduces cost and materials over the life of a building.
Waste
Production of waste during the building process will be carefully controlled and documented. Studies
have taken place during whilst establishing the brief which mean that the existing single storey north
light building will be demolished as part of the development. The materials embodied in this existing
structure will be studied for their reuse or ability to be re-cycled and targets will be set to reduce the
amount of waste being sent to landfill overall. Whilst reducing waste in construction is important,
specific attention should also be paid to reducing waste arising from use of the building. To assist in
the college’s management of the facility, sufficient space for re-cycling and waste storage areas will
be incorporated into the design.
Land Use and Ecology
An ecological assessment has been carried out for the development which defines the proposals as
having a low ecological impact. Protection will be provided to areas outside the development which
could potentially hold some ecological value which will be done as part of the contractor’s good
practice in relation to site activities.
Pollution
Whilst the design of the building services will recognise any contributory factors in relation to pollution
and take action to reduce or remove them, external factors such as flood risk, noise levels and light
pollution will also be fully addressed.
Basic Building Cost - £/m2
Basic building cost £990/m2
Services Costs - £/m2
Services cost £470/m2
External Works - £/m2
External works cost £72/m2
Gross floor area - m2
Total floor area = 3020 m2
Total area of site – hectares
3900m2 (approx.)
Function areas and their size (m2)
Function areas = 2160 m2 (approx.)
Area of circulation (m2)
Circulation areas = 840 m2 (approx.)
Area of storage (m2)
Storage areas = 25 m2 (approx.)
% area of grounds to be used by community (where relevant)
6% of the grounds will be used by community
% area of buildings to be used by community (where relevant)
33% of the building will ve available for the community
Predicted electricity consumption - kWh/m2
60 kWh/m²
Predicted fossil fuel consumption - kWh/m2
45 kWh/m²
Predicted renewable energy generation - kWh/m2
3.4 kWh/m²
Predicted water use - m3/person/year
4 m³/person/year
% predicted water use to be provided by rainwater or greywater
There will be no use made of rainwater or greywater
The steps taken during the construction process to reduce environmental
impacts, i.e. innovative construction management techniques
Management
Production of waste during the building process will be carefully controlled and documented. Studies
have taken place whilst establishing the brief and the existing single storey north light building has
been demolished as part of the development. The materials embodied in this existing structure have
been studied for their reuse or ability to be re-cycled and targets set to reduce the amount of waste
being sent to landfill overall. In order for the building design and the building services to function
correctly the building must be commissioned properly and the use of the building must be fully
explained for its users. The commissioning of the building will therefore take place over the period of a
full year and a simple building user guide will be developed and updated to reflect how the building
functions and ensure efficiency. Impacts of the development during construction will be well managed
and kept to a minimum which is integral to the design and the development of the brief to date.
EWC have registered the site under the Considerate Constructors Scheme and are to achieve a CCS
score of at least 32 points. They will also record energy and water consumption on a monthly basis
against a target figure and display this in the site office, use best practices to protect the air and water
courses, ensure that an ISO14001 Environmental Management System is in place and either produce
a sustainability procurement policy or record transport to and from site. EWC will also ensure that all
timber used for temporary works will be from a sustainable source.
A list of any social or economically sustainable measures achieved/piloted.
The key innovative and low-impact design features of the building
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High Efficiency, Low NOx, Condensing Boilers.
Heat Pump air conditioning units.
On site Renewable Energy via Photovoltaic panels.
BMS controls to all heating, cooling and ventilation systems.
Sanitary shut off valves to reduce water usage.
An image of how the internal courtyard will appear