Ecos Warrior

Star Wars fans will see the resemblence – a cross between the Millennium Falcon and Luke's X-wing fighter. But this isn't a movie prop. It is a spaceage eco-tourism centre.

The Ecos Millennium Environmental Centre is set in 150 acres of flood plain on the banks of the River Braid near Ballymena. It is dubbed as Northern Ireland's national site for environmental advice, research and education.

The £6 million centre highlights biodiversity, sustainability and renewable energy and aims to teach both private parties and the public of the necessity of taking up the 'green' challenge through lectures and first-hand experience of the various technologies available.

Understandably, the centre itself has been built to the green ethos. The clients, Ballymena Borough Council and the Millennium Commission, employed m&e consultant Mott MacDonald and instructed that it must engineer the centre to meet around 60% of its energy requirements through renewable sources and at the same time help reduce CO₂ emissions by nearly 200 tonnes per year.

Whereas most typical projects would be lucky to feature just one type of renewable source, Ecos showcases no less than four. It combines a 110 m² roof-mounted array of monocrystalline photovoltaic cells, 54 m² of evacuated tube solar collectors, a 30 kW wind turbine and a 50 kW biomass combined heat and power (chp) plant – fuelled by willow coppice which is grown on the site.

This array of renewable energy sources was specified by the client as a teaching tool. It was, however, not meant purely as an academic demonstration model – each green source has to make a substantial contribution to the building's energy consumption, subject to a minimum of 5%.

The energy provision design was also influenced by other factors. For instance, Mott MacDonald had to take into consideration the sizes of the photovoltaic arrays and solar collectors which were totally dependent upon the available south facing roof area. The wind turbine, too, was restricted to 30 kW because of the very limited range of larger models available.

Mott MacDonald's design achieves the client's specification easily (see table 1). The renewable sources actually provide 78% of the centre's heating requirements and 61% of its electricity.

Mott MacDonald has also made use of the stack effect to achieve natural ventilation. And copper and cast iron pipework has been used for the public health services, while cross-linked polythylene insulation sheaths the electric cable. Both measures cut pvc use to a minimum.

Ecos aims to promote the advantages of renewable energy sources for use in everyday construction. Sam Simpson, associate with Mott MacDonald, weighs up the options: "Solar collectors are the technology most likely to be used on everyday projects, from a financial standpoint. Photovoltaic arrays are becoming more common, particularly following government promotion. Wind turbines are less easily utilised as they are totally dependent on the site position, climatic conditions and issues such as planning permission." CHP, too, is a technology long known about but finally being recognised for its worth.

All of this energy producing hardware is monitored through a building management system. It records the heat and/or electricity output from each source. This data is then downloaded to the centre management and also to a touchscreen in one of the exhibition galleries. Here both historical (last day, week, month etc) and live energy data can be viewed by the public in an easy graphical format.

Education is the whole ethos behind the centre. The renewable energy sources would have less importance if Ecos was not designed to stimulate an interest in environmentally-friendly solutions. And, bringing education to the fore, Ecos includes a state-of-the-art 120 seat conference centre, a seminar room and a board room, all for private hire.

In addition to the conferencing facilites, the centre also houses galleries that are aimed at the general public and school parties. Here, the interactive touch screens and displays get children and adults involved and interested in the green message.

All aspects of Ecos are ecologically sound. The surrounding parkland hosts a community organic market and the cafe serves dishes made from seasonably available locally grown produce. The centre's literature says that this "...demonstrates how visitors can create a tasty and nourishing meal which minimises the adverse environmental impact of today's production methods". Even the staff's uniforms are environmentally-friendly. Their fleece jackets are made from recycled plastic bottles!

Ecos is showcasing the way forward for green construction in the 21st Century. But the big question is was the Millennium Falcon environmentally-friendly? Maybe not, but Darth Vader's suit has got to be made totally out of reconstituted bin bags. And chewbacca? Fake fur, you mark my words.