In line with the client’s ambitions to use sustainable materials, building elements have been chosen to avoid products that come from areas of high risk for modern slavery and, where possible, they have been procured locally and specified with responsible sourcing certificates (all permanent timber will be FSC certified)..
But we were tasked to review all equipment specifications, for the chillers, air handling units, pumps, or anything else, essentially to protect the client and make sure they got they were paying for.And once installation was completed, we helped with witnessing commissioning, and then monitoring the functioning of the new building through its defects liability period..
Since that initial role, we have carried out a number of other MEP projects for Illumina, including extensive heat load testing, lab upgrades and the repurposing of existing offices and other facilities.One major issue for clients in this sort of field is that science moves so fast that buildings quickly become out of date.And the changing use of building spaces has been exacerbated by COVID reducing the requirement for office space even further..
In this context, we have converted offices to pilot labs with a high density of fume cupboards and clean room facilities.We have also built an incubator/accelerator project; a lab building for startups.
The principal MEPchallenge here is catering for the air change requirements, which are clearly much higher in a laboratory than in an office.
Doing this has been greatly helped by the 3D modelling that was carried out on the original project.. HVAC upgrades at the Portway.Recommended design measures for the achievement of Passivhaus performance.
What are the benefits and challenges of adopting Passivhaus?.These are the main benefits of adopting a Passivhaus standard:.
A well-recognised quality mark: Passivhaus is a well-recognised, international, sustainable design standard which is seen by professionals and non-professionals alike as guaranteeing a level of environmental excellence that goes well beyond national standards..Performance gap reduced to minimum: Its all-encompassing energy assessment methodology and bespoke design software (Passive House Planning Package) offers a different approach to the compliance-focused UK energy modelling, which results in performance gap being largely avoided.. Ultra-low energy/carbon and lower operational costs: Passivhaus designs achieve low-energy consumption.
(Editor: Beginner Lamps)