Sustainable building services designed by Pick Everard within the brand new £35m Hugh Aston Building at De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester have now been completed, looking on track to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating.
The building’s design uses natural and hybrid ventilation techniques and sustainable features including ground source heat pumps, adiabatic cooling to air handling units, solar hot water arrays and daylight-linked lighting. Having been awarded a design-stage BREEAM Excellent, it is aiming to achieve the same rating now construction is complete.
Pick Everard building services engineering director, John Thompson, said: “This has been a significant project for DMU, our engineers and for the contractors involved. Effective teamwork and close collaboration between Pick Everard, the university’s project team during both design and construction phases has resulted in a spectacular building we can be proud of.”
Engineers used specialist software to carry out detailed thermal modelling and simulation exercises before developing and agreeing a building services strategy that meets the university’s detailed requirements.
Umesh Desai, DMU’s deputy director of estates, said: “The new facility is fantastic, meets the client’s expectations and forms a landmark gateway to the campus from the city centre.
“The fact that there has been very little change from the initial design stages shows how well the team worked together in getting the client’s requirements right from the outset.
“The University has worked on a number of projects over the years with Pick Everard and I am confident that there will be other opportunities in the future.”
The 16,000m² DMU Faculty of Business and Law includes large lecture theatres, classrooms, meeting rooms, academic offices, a mock court room, library and IT facilities and an atrium and winter gardens allowing air and natural light into the building.
The building was officially opened on 17 March by Patrick McKenna, founder and chief executive of Ingenious Media, who was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from DMU’s Faculty of Business and Law in 2008.
By Nicola Storey |