South Bristol Skills Academy creates comfortable teaching and learning conditions
The £30 million South Bristol Skills Academy is part of the Hengrove Park regeneration project, it was designed by Bristol architects Atkins Walters Webster and was constructed by Cowlin.
Visit a reference projectSolution
Natural ventilation , Hybrid Ventilation
Location
Bristol, Great Britain
Sector
Education
Project Type
New build
A feature of the building is full height glazing to the entrance supported by vertical tubular steel trusses, allowing natural light to flood the atrium. The original design used high level windows and louvres with heaters to pre-temper the air prior to it entering the space. The final design included removing the louvre element to save costs while still allowing the building to perform as the M&E consultants required.
Thermal Modelling
WindowMaster carried out a substantial analysis to prove that the building would still work using openable windows. The extensive environmental modelling ensures that a natural ventilation strategy will achieve comfortable teaching conditions within the building and meet the strict design criteria set by the college. As a result of the analysis the final installation included 182 actuators controlling windows in 26 zones. Located at the gateway to Hengrove Park the 11,200m2 campus provides facilities for over 3,000 students across four levels including teaching facilities for catering, hair and beauty therapy, motor vehicle and motorcycle maintenance, and construction skills in classroom and workshop environments.
The Strategy
The external roof structure was created in steelwork while concrete is used internally forming a curved frontage. Its thermal mass assists in controlling heat fluctuations caused by external weather conditions in summer and winter toreduce heating and cooling loads, which in turn reduces the energy consumption of the building and aids natural ventilation. Maximising the use of natural ventilation in the perimeter rooms through openeable windows, cross ventilation and the stack system will also aid in reducing the energy consumption of the building and reduce CO2 emissions. The weather station monitors external conditions around the building, including wind direction and speed, temperature and rain fall. Changes in wind pressure on the facades are also modelled. These parameters are programmed into the computer control system where they are analysed along with readings taken from the weather station and sensors fitted internally. Windows around the building are then precisely controlled and positioned to keep air quality within rooms fresh and the temperature constant. WindowMaster‘s NV Advance® natural ventilation system is the only system in Europe that intelligently monitors windows to prevent entrapment as an integrated function of the motor and control system. It can significantly reduce the risk of possible injury while windows are closing.
