Fortress House

Project description

The renovation of the Fortress House building with the construction of new extension. The re-development of the site will form an Art Gallery & Centre, a café, restaurant and roof terrace with gardens.

Architect

GAMMA Architects

We prepared a Sustainability and Energy Savings Report for the development, including a predictive EPC to support GAMMA and the developer with the planning permission application. Following close work with the architects and developers, we were able to propose several energy efficient measures for the building to lower its impact on the environment.

The Aim

To investigate the energy efficient measure that could be adopted for the project, while showing that sustainability conditions have been considered. Additionally, the renovation will abide by the nearly zero energy building (nZEB) standard and be as energy efficient and low carbon as practically possible.

Finding & Solutions

EPC Rating (predictive): A21

Building Energy Use: 91 KWH/m2/year

Building Emission Rate: 50.98 kgCO2/m2/year

Passive design measures:

While the art gallery will be mechanically ventilated, the remaining spaces, including majority of the ground floor, is naturally ventilated through windows.
The art gallery will have no daylight, to protect the paintings, but for deep interiors fibre optic daylight collectors were recommended.
Low U-values of building elements such as walls and glazing.
No South glazed areas and highly shaded West facade- minimising solar heat gains.

Active engineering measures:

Cooling and heating VRV system with high COPs and high seasonal efficiencies.
Energy efficient features for mechanical ventilation/extraction systems including occupancy sensors, timers, heat recovery and demand control.
LED Lighting throughout with timers, occupancy and daylight sensors.

Renewable technologies:

Solar Thermal using Naked Energy Virtu HOT Tubes cover approximately 62% of hot water demand which saves 100 tonnes of CO2 in 20 years.
PV System which would covers a portion of the energy demand and power the façade lights, saving 3.4 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Water conservation and recycling:

Greywater recycling system – collection the condensation from dehumidification units and AC to reuse for cleaning outdoor areas and irrigation. Saving over 1000 litres of water per day and financial savings of £2,600 on average per year.