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Prestigious sustainable building award for latest addition to WIT campus
Posted: Thu, January 14, 2010 |
The recently commissioned Tourism & Leisure Education building at Waterford Institute of Technology has won an award in recognition of the design concepts applied to minimise the building’s environmental impact.
The Republic of Ireland region of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) has presented its sustainable building services design award sponsored by John Sisk & Son Ltd to the Institute for the 7,660-sq m building at the western end of the Institute’s main campus.
Designed by A&D Wejchert & Partners Architects who have also been responsible for a number of other landmark buildings at the same campus, the building makes effective use of solar shading, natural ventilation and daylight and automatic light controls to minimise energy use and light and heat loss.
In addition, energy efficient equipment is used throughout while the building’s concrete thermal mass helps to naturally cool it. The combination of these and other innovations removes the need for energy intensive air conditioning and provides a considerably better working environment for students and staff.
Kitchens where professional cookery classes are provided have been located on lower floors of the building with low level air supply helping to minimise energy consumption and heat generation. The building’s ‘kitchen of the future’ allows students to learn how to best apply low energy cooking methods. With a high level of air-tightness, the kitchens also have a new type of ventilation system.
Commenting on the award, Paul Quirke, Capital Projects Manager, Waterford Institute of Technology, said: “This is a great endorsement of the work we do on our new buildings to ensure that they have a minimal environmental impact. As well as incorporating the latest technologies in our buildings at the design and construction stage, we also deploy a variety of strategies when the buildings are operational to ensure low carbon consumption and to help create the best possible built environment for users.”
The project team for the Tourism & Leisure Education building was completed by main contractors Brian McCarthy Contractors; the Building Design Partnership; Michael Punch & Partners; Healy Kelly Turner Townsend; GM Associates; Mercury Engineering and Jer Ryan Electrical.
