Arup’s design of Athens’ remarkable new cultural centre put sustainability on the agenda from the start, and the commitment and vision of the client and design team resulted in it becoming Greece’s first LEED Platinum building, says David McAllister
Category: Case Studies
Chemical equilibrium – carbon neutral laboratory
The GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry at the University of Nottingham aims to be carbon neutral over its 25-year lifetime. Rebuilt after a fire gutted the site a year into construction, Andrew Brister reveals the energy strategy behind the £15.8m building
Double first – University of Bradford’s winning energy reduction programme
The University of Bradford won the ultimate CIBSE Building Performance Awards accolade for the second time last month. Andy Pearson finds out how the facilities management team has maintained its focus on energy reduction, and reveals its plans to go off-grid
The new Design Museum – engineering by stealth
The minimalist architecture of the Design Museum’s new London home meant its building services had to be silent and hidden from view. Andy Pearson explains how ChapmanBDSP overcame the challenges
Just the ticket – monitoring at The Hive
Good design, monitoring and control have ensured The Hive library in Worcester has comfortably beaten its energy targets. Afroditi-Maria Konidari and Ian P Knight, of Cardiff University, look at how proactive building management and low-energy design reaped results
Creature comforts – David Attenborough Building
How do you turn a brutalist, uninsulated, concrete structure – housing the University of Cambridge’s zoology department – into a naturally ventilated showcase of sustainability that encourages collaboration between conservation groups? Andy Pearson finds out
Raising the bar – Land Rover BAR headquarters for the America’s Cup
Land Rover BAR will attempt to achieve Britain’s first America’s Cup victory next year. If its teamwork is anything like the collaborative approach taken to design its HQ, Sir Ben Ainslie stands a good chance of bringing home the trophy. Alex Smith reports
Sound of success – acoustic design in music schools
Creating the right acoustic environment in a performance space is a painstaking task that requires a multidisciplinary approach. Liza Young speaks to the team behind a new University of St Andrews music centre
The art of cooling – services design at the Tate Modern extension
Its façade is not the only thing that’s cutting edge about the new Tate Modern extension – it uses water from the gravel below to cool and heat the galleries inside. Andy Pearson explains the innovative strategy
Safe harbour – the Chatham Historic Dockyard restoration
For 200 years the historic HMS Namur lay forgotten under a wheelwrights’ shop at The Chatham Historic Dockyard. Now it’s the star of an exhibition on the age of sail in a Grade I restoration. Alex Smith reports
