Passive House Premium
PEOPLE’S CHOICE - PASSIVHAUS TRUST AWARDS 2023
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PUTTING THE ‘GREEN’ INTO MAINSTREAM ARCHITECTURE Erne Campus sets the bar for energy efficient buildings around the world Hamilton Architects recognise that the design of energy efficient buildings for our cities and towns is a huge but imperative task. That is why we are delighted Erne Campus, our Passive House Premium project for South West College in Northern Ireland, is being lauded around the world for its excellence. Erne Campus is simply setting the bar for all public sector buildings at a time when international requirements to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon footprint are becoming ever more stringent. The simple fact is that buildings account for at least 40% of all energy consumption across the globe and produce at least the same share in greenhouse gas emissions. It is evident that while the technologies exist to mitigate against climate change, ‘green’ architecture design must become mainstream in order to bring about significant improvement. Hamilton Architects understand that cognisance of everything environmental is essential in the creation and development of a project, whether for a new building or an existing building. We take energy efficiency, carbon footprint, environmental protection and pollution prevention into prime consideration in all our schemes, from the design concept to project delivery. We involve a whole team of professional expertise at each stage of development, with policy makers, structural designers, energy managers, construction managers, and consultants all playing their part. Erne Campus is just one, albeit world-beating, example of the design work Hamilton Architects is doing in the field of energy efficiency and environmental performance. All such projects, whether big or small, are making a tangible difference to the lives of their owners, their users and their community. As global energy efficiency ambitions soar, we look forward to playing an even bigger role in creating a built environment that enriches, rather than depletes, the planet’s resources. The Hamilton design team, colleagues and judges take the stage for the trophy presentation
The RICS Awards annually celebrate the UK’s most inspirational projects. In his citation, Chair of the judging panel, David Brooks-Wilson FRICS, said that Erne Campus – which also won the Public Sector category – was an exemplar of how, despite many obstacles which had to be overcome, the project also scores highly in social value, generating a centre of excellence for local students of the built environment and raising the profile and the pride of all its inhabitants and neighbours.
Mark Haslett Partner Hamilton Architects
Click here for a video of the project
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A WORLD BEATER BY DESIGN Erne Campus of South West College is an exceptional public sector project and an inspirational building of regional, national and international significance in terms of sustainability, renewables and low carbon emissions. At 8,000sqm, it is the world’s first educational - and currently the largest – Passive House Premium rated building and the first in the UK to achieve both PHP and BREEAM Outstanding accreditations. As an exemplar of a near Net Zero Energy Building (nZEB), this £34m project has been recognised as one of 26 UN Centres of Excellence for High Performance Buildings, ranking alongside the Apple 2 campus in California. Erne Campus has won a raft of awards. In July 2023, it garnered the People’s Choice Award as the overall winner of the UK Passivhaus Trust Awards. It also won overall Project of the Year in the RICS Awards 2022 as well as the Public Sector category. Erne was the BREEAM Public Sector Project - Design Stage Award 2021 and was honoured with the Green Gown Award 2021. Apart from reducing its energy bills by an estimated 86% per annum, it delivers a state-of-the-art educational resource for 2,800 full and part-time students and is an exemplar for its construction students and the entire construction industry. As Government prepares to institute an nZEB policy for all public sector buildings, Erne Campus will play a significant role, nationally and internationally, in breaking down barriers to success.
INSIDE STORY Design
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A cross-section of Erne Campus. The base of the atrium rises through two storeys along its length, in line with existing site contours. The curve of the building foreshortens the effect of its length, with the change in level fully incorporated into the design to add an additional layer of interest.
Ground Floor Plan
First Floor Plan
Second Floor Plan
Third Floor Plan
The new Erne Campus, astride a slope above the River Erne, creates a strong architectural statement informed by the site, orientation, sustainability and organisational strategy.
The main façade of the long, assertive, crescent-shaped form of the building faces South to West over the river, with the main entrance facing North East into the car park.
The crisp design and bold curve of this large, imposing building fits well into a setting bounded on four sides. It is bounded to the south by the River Erne, to the east by Erne Health Centre, to the west by Cornagrade Road, and to the north by Factory Road.
The mature trees around the front elevation soften the setting and break up the mass of the building when viewed from across the river at the northern side of the town centre. A twostorey change in level adds an additional layer of interest to the design.
The atrium, designed as the focal point of the campus, curves around the entire length of the southern side of the building and is fully glazed along the outside edge, with accommodation arranged along the inside edge.
However, it was a particularly challenging project, not least because of its size and complexity. There is not much room for error at PHP status level and there were a lot of competing requirements in terms of providing the correct level of accommodation while satisfying the college’s sustainability aspirations, obtaining planning permissions and meeting building control regulations.
Situated on the site of the demolished Lough Erne Hospital, the project consisted of the development and construction of a new 8,000 sqm college for 800 full-time and 2,000 part-time students, together with associated infrastructure and landscaping.
Entering from the car park side, through the low-rise, two-storey curved frontage, the blue brick and coloured cladding make a welcoming statement, ushering visitors into the foyer, past the lift tower and on into a large and airy four-storey high atrium.
The base of the atrium rises through two storeys along its length, in line with existing site contours, with the space changing in character from the huge open space at the lower end into a narrower, intimate section on the higher end. Full glazing permits relaxing views of the parkland, river vista and town centre which change as users progress along the length of the crescent curve. Rising majestically from the elevated site, Erne Campus has rapidly become a town landmark.
Ultimately, however, the design of the project means that Erne Campus benefits from very low energy usage, particularly in heating costs which have been reduced to practically zero, representing huge savings for South West College. Mark Haslett Hamilton Architects
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INSIDE STORY M&E
The business case for Erne Campus and the availability of enhanced funding for the project were dependent upon achieving a near zero carbon/negative carbon energy performance.
The key objective was a 10% reduction in energy costs compared to the 2013/14 baseline. But that could not be met at the expense of the comfort of the staff and students of Erne Campus. Central to our plan was a solar array on the roof of the building, which has 3400m2 capacity. This allows a solar photovoltaic system (520kwp) to provide generation of 120 Kwh/m2/year alongside 480Kwhr/180wpk of short-term lithium battery storage. A fully glazed atrium along the main façade tracks the sun, allowing significant positive solar contribution in winter. Measures to mitigate solar gain in summer include an overhanging roof to the atrium, brise soleil, and a solar reflective glass with a G Factor of 0.32 or less. Heating is provided by a bio-oil micro CHP unit combined with an air-to-water heat pump. Both systems use a mix of underfloor heating sections and responsive low water content radiators as heat emitters. The building is mechanically ventilated due to airtightness levels and the need for heat recovery and regulated on the basis of occupancy via zoned CO2/temp sensors. Fresh ventilation air is drawn from low level on the east elevation and more than 20m from sources of pollution. In the atrium, a natural ventilation system via stack effect uses opening lights in the glazing. Earth pipe passive cooling systems are used to maintain comfort
conditions in the classroom, seminar room and meeting room spaces on Levels 0, 1 and 2. All habitable rooms have mechanical ventilation via MVHR and spaces with external walls have the capability of user-controlled natural ventilation via opening windows. The training and production kitchens are fully mechanically ventilated, with back-up heating convectors to provide heating when the kitchens are not in use. Most internal spaces are against an external wall, meaning natural light provision is very high. Coupled with dimmable lighting controlled via daylight sensors, this drastically reduces energy usage. The old campus building in Enniskillen town centre had a D-Rating which required 152 Kwh/m2/year for heating alone, using 100,000 litres of oil at an average cost of £51,000.00pa. Applying projected heat demand and assumed costs to the new building - 6.82 kWh/m2/year @ £0.10 per/kWh - the total heating cost will be £4,800, representing an annual saving of £44,000 or 90%. The Passivhaus design was developed with input from building physics engineer Craig Bennett, who helped come up with the most effective low energy interventions. The natural orientation of the building lent itself to maximizing the solar principles behind Passivhaus. We incorporated high performing windows, which enabled the low energy element of the works to be cost-effectively incorporated into the scheme. Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP), the software design tool produced by the Passivhaus Institute, was used to model performance of the proposed interventions. Cormac Freehill Bennett Freehill
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INSIDE STORY Project Management
Open for Business! Erne Campus is a state-of-the-art educational resource for 800 full-time students, 2,000 part-time students and 120 staff. Aside from classrooms and lecture theatres, facilities include a central hall, teaching laboratories, sophisticated computer suites, working hair and beauty salons, a comprehensive fitness suite, dance studio, break-out spaces, and ultramodern Erne Restaurant, to name but a few. Importantly, the campus acts as an exemplar for its construction students and the entire construction industry.
As Project Managers for the Erne Campus, esc Construction Consultants created a strategy which supported exemplary teamwork and collaboration from inception to completion and beyond. The collective vision, commitment and expertise from esc, the client, funders and wider design and construction teams ensured any obstacles were overcome from the earliest stages to deliver this unique and challenging project. Esc was assigned to the role of Project Manager & Cost Consultant and expertly guided the project team to success in planning, coordinating and executing this complex project to achieve the highest accreditations. A design team was assembled to collaboratively deliver stringent sustainability standards required to achieve thermal performance, air tightness and cold bridging targets.
The design process was managed using design workshops, sacrificial designs and 3D design tools, with full end stage reporting incorporating design, specification, risk and cost presentations. Stakeholder Management Plans identified key client stakeholders, as well as wider statutory stakeholders, and ensured implementation of a fully collaborative design process using successful methodologies from completed projects, supplemented by new techniques and systems. Esc’s Project Manager spent five years on this cutting edge project, ensuring continuity of the highest standards of service delivery. This included management of programme and budget; smooth delivery of a change control process; establishment of risk and value management procedures; achievement of KPIs and sustainability objectives; and continuity of the highest standards of service delivery. Pat Mullan esc Construction Consultants
The services strategy integrated energy generation which used low energy outputs and balanced passive systems with highly engineered bio-fuel heat and power generation. Extensive option analysis at building, system, element and component level ensured management of technical demands within an approved budget. Esc services were guided throughout by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Code of Conduct, with Cost Planning, Life Cycle Costing and Asset Analysis supported though subscription to the Building Cost Information Service.
Anna Baird Project Manager
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INSPIRED AND INSPIRING... year), costing around £51,000pa. The new campus, designed by Hamilton Architects, has a predicted heating demand of 8.4 kWh/m2/year at an expected cost of £6,000pa. In addition, ongoing monitoring of the indoor air quality is revealing some excellent results: for example, the average temperature over 12 months was 21.8C and the average CO2 was 480ppm. There is no doubt that Erne Campus has broken a glass ceiling at just the right time - one where the world is grappling with the joint impact of an energy crisis and a climate emergency - and is seeing significant opportunities arise as a result.
Dr Barry McCarron COP27, the Climate Change Conference held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022, marked 15 years since the United Nations first cited the Passive House standard as a climate mitigation measure. Today, the Passive House standard is starting to gain more than just incremental popularity in the UK where – in common with the rest of the globe - buildings account for almost 40% of all emissions. Some projects are even pushing beyond the original Passive House Classic standard with the introduction of Passive House Plus and Passive House Premium certifications, which include renewable energy in the assessment. South West College, which lies at the heart of communities in Tyrone and Fermanagh, employs 900 staff and has a £41m annual
budget, making it a major contributor to the local and regional economy. The College’s first Passive House building was a catalyst in many ways. The £1m CREST pavilion opened in 2015 within the Estate and was monitored for over two years to provide proof of Passive House performance. It subsequently played a major role in helping SWC secure over £1m R&D funding in the construction industry and has so far facilitated the training of 500 professionals in construction and design. Built in 1971 on another Enniskillen town centre site, the old Erne Campus had a poor energy efficiency rating (Band ‘D’) and needed around 100,000 litres of oil per year for heating alone (equivalent to 152 kWh/m2/
We have been recognised as one of 26 United Nations Centres of Excellence for High Performance Buildings globally and our students have benefited from international collaborations with Penn State University in the US and Humber College in Toronto, Canada. We were invited to contribute to both COP26 and COP27 and, in September 2022, we hosted the International Passive House Association Passive House Camp, along with partners the Passive House Institute and Passive House Association of Ireland. Over 50 international partners enjoyed workshops, networks and excursions, including a visit to Lancaster Park in Belfast, the first developer-led Passive House residential housing scheme in Northern Ireland.
The camp included a tour of the CREST Centre, which is not just a certified Passive House building, but an exciting venture which aims to help small businesses to develop by adopting renewable energy and sustainable technologies. It is imperative, as policy-makers continue to seek net-zero solutions across the region and across the world, to highlight how Passive House can lead to better health, social, economic, and environmental outcomes. The UN Sustainable Development Goals, established in 2015, are now a widely recognised tool in illustrating how an efficiency-first approach such as Passive House (which addresses 10 out of 17 SDGs) fits into global aims. Right here in Northern Ireland, both public and private sectors are responding to increased demand for delivery of Passive House (or equivalent) standards, with the result that the built environment is seeing a significant shift towards achieving the highest possible energy efficiencies. This unstoppable movement will not just deliver a substantial reduction in carbon emissions from buildings but will help to achieve urgent targets for health and wellbeing, climate action, affordable and clean energy, and responsible production and consumption. Dr Barry McCarron Head of Business Development and Chair of the PHAI
Construction Diary
A SHORT HISTORY OF
Passive House Passive House buildings are built with rigorous design and attention to detail to provide a high level of occupant comfort while using very little energy for heating and cooling.
To achieve the Passivhaus Standard in the UK typically involves:
Passive House Premium is a goal for particularly ambitious building owners and designers who want to go beyond what economic and ecological considerations already propose.
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The Passivhaus Institute in Germany certifies such buildings through an exacting quality assurance process with three levels of standards: > PassivHaus Classic – a low energy demand building. > PassiveHaus Plus – higher criteria in which additional energy is generated through the use of onsite renewable technology such as photovoltaics. The renewable energy generation target is a minimum of 60kWh/m2, while the renewable energy demand of the building must be less than 45kWh/m2. > PassiveHaus Premium - far more energy is produced than needed. The targets for Premium are to generate at least 120kWh/m2 with a very low demand of just 30kWh/m2.
BREEAM
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Earth pipe system
accurate design modelling using the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) very high levels of building insulation extremely high performance glazing and curtain walling airtight building fabric to prevent heat loss thermal Bridge free construction, eliminating cold air gaps mechanical ventilation with highly efficient heat recovery
To ensure that Passivhaus principles were integrated into the very earliest design stages for Erne Campus, it was essential that the stringent requirements were understood by all members of the design team.
OSB infill panels
With Erne Campus, the specific strategy for achieving Premium started with the shape and position of the building, long before any renewable technology strategy or other items were considered.
NZEB
Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method is the world’s longest established method of assessing, rating and certifying the sustainability of buildings.
Assessments are undertaken by independent licensed assessors using scientifically-based sustainability metrics and indices which cover a range of environmental issues.
BREEAM works to raise awareness of the benefits of taking a sustainable approach by providing a framework for, and recognition of, the successful adoption of cost-effective sustainable solutions.
The categories evaluated cover energy and water use, health and well-being, pollution, transport, materials, waste, ecology and management processes.
The European Commission’s ‘Directives on Energy Efficiency’ introduced the concept of the Near Zero Energy Building.
To date, more than 550,000 buildings have been ‘BREEAM-certified’ and over two million are registered for certification in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Buildings are rated and certified on a scale of Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent and Outstanding.
Since 2021 all new buildings in the EU have had to be constructed as NZEBs. By 2030, the aspiration is that all new buildings will be ZEBs Zero Emission Buildings.
Work on BREEAM began at the Building Research Establishment in Watford in 1988 and the accreditation framework and features have been reviewed regularly over recent decades. The latest update of BREEAM UK New Construction was launched in March 2018 at Ecobuild. Erne Campus has been accredited Outstanding under the strictest new BREEAM standard.
The building sector is one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions, with 40% of energy consumption in Europe coming from buildings.
Timber frame and sub floor
renewable sources produced locally or nearby surroundings.While such buildings will continue to consume energy, their energy does not come from sources such as oil, natural gas, coal or uranium, thus having a low impact on the environment.
Many countries and organisations are now focusing on reducing the total amount of energy consumed by buildings until almost zero energy is used.
Some of the ways NZEBs contribute to sustainable development include: • making buildings less energy-consuming by design • encouraging adoption of renewable sources of energy • using regulations to ensure sustainable practices for building construction • adhering to a frame which creates highly efficient buildings
NZEBs are not literally energy-free: they are buildings which consume nearly as much energy as they produce, with the energy coming from
Passive House and BREEAM are among the certifications and standards that help achieve the goals of sustainable buildings.
Underfloor heating pipes Photographs: Padraig McAlister
Ventilation pipework
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