Project of the Year

Sponsored by Hays Building Services

Winner

BDP

Leigh Technology Academy, Dartford

BDP’s intelligent and sustainable building is clearly appreciated, the judges said. The 1500 pupils, who specialise in technology and ICT, and their teachers benefit from a series of measures that heat and cool the school while keeping carbon emissions to a minimum.

Innovations include orienting the building to catch low-angle sun in walkways where it can be recovered to reduce heating energy, while the thermal mass is used extensively to eliminate the need to install mechanical cooling. Where heat gains from ICT equipment are unavoidable, they are transferred to other parts of the building which benefit from “free” heating – said to cut the building’s overall energy figures by 6%.

Runners-up

Arup

Northern Arizona University

Building massing, form and orientation were all used to reduce the energy demands for heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation. As a consequence, the building is a long, narrow arc with daylight on 90% of the floor area. Overall, the combination of controlled energy demands and on-site generation has achieved an 89% reduction in consumption compared with US recommendations.

McBains Cooper

Embassy Court, St John’s Wood

The eight-storey development minimises the use of energy through a geothermal heat pump installation. It has 93 energy piles, 45m deep, and is said to be the first luxury residential project in the UK to feature such a scheme. The total energy saving is forecast to be about 20%, achieving an Eco Homes “very good” rating.

Mott MacDonald

Vulcan House, Sheffield

Vulcan House is the new headquarters of the Home Office, consolidating five offices into a single location with a total of 2000 staff. The project is part of the Home Office’s target of becoming carbon neutral by 2012, and achieved a BREEAM “excellent” rating.

Southern Electric Contracting

VT Shipbuilding, Portsmouth

The development, deep within the busy naval base, was complicated by an instruction not to interrupt the base’s construction capabilities as well as a 37-week build time. Nonetheless, the M&E services installation on the construction hall was completed two weeks ahead of schedule, with buy-in throughout the supply chain on the back of a partnering approach.

White Young Green

Eco Centre, Cockermouth School

The £1.5m project uses the latest technology to reduce power consumption through lighting, heating and ventilation, as well as reducing water consumption through biomes. The teaching facility also puts monitoring at the fingertips of the pupils, who can see in real time the energy imported and exported and the carbon dioxide savings from the wind turbines and other technologies.