NAVIGATING EDWARDIAN HERITAGE INTO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

A multi-million pound investment in education facilities in Altrincham is taking sustainability to new levels.

Navigation Primary School has been designed as a flagship for Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council’s education build programme. Not only does it include a number of ‘green’ solutions, but the pupils and staff can monitor its energy consumption- and generation- via a software display on a plasma screen.

The Edwardian school was deemed beyond repair; the new two-storey school incorporates six classrooms in each floor plus a main hall and entrance. Passivent natural ventilation, solar panels, rainwater harvesting and a wind turbine to generate electricity all form key elements of the environmentally-friendly solutions included by Ansell & Bailey Architects and M&E consultants SI Sealy & Associates.

To test the design theory, thermal modeling by Passivent was undertaken engaging the skills of De Montfort University, demonstrating the combined cross/ stack natural ventilation achieved the air change rate of 8l/s/person in line with current DfES guidelines. It also demonstrated that the glazing specification could be reduced without affecting the amount of natural daylight whilst reducing solar heat gain, to maintain a comfortable internal environment for the children and teachers.

Passivent Aircools ventilators are located in the classrooms and main entrance, which draw fresh air into the space; the existing warm, used air rises up ducting to the 9 Passivent High Capacity Terminals sited on the roof. In the main hall, three Passivent Airscoop DAD (direct air dispersal) units on the roof draw fresh air into the space below and simultaneously exhaust the ‘used air’ through displacement. In the infants’ library and the two corridors, Passivent Litevent units provide natural ventilation AND natural daylight, reducing the need in each area for supplementary, energy-consuming electric lighting, whilst ensuring the air remains fresh.

John Ramsbottom, project manager at Trafford’s The Built Environment, observed, “People who have visited are impressed with the school, its ventilation and we are optimistic for the initial assessments we have of the school’s energy performance.”

Passivent is part of the Building Product Design Group and is the UK’s leading designer and supplier of natural ventilation systems for both domestic and commercial applications. The company is a founder member of the NatVent EC-EU-funded project co-ordinated by the Building Research establishment to develop practical natural ventilation solutions for the commercial sector, and of the DfES steering committee on natural ventilation guidance for schools, Building Bulletin 101. Passivent has also contributed to the BISRIA Guide BG2/2005 Wind Driven Natural Ventilation Systems.