Sustainable Design Report by Christina Antonelli

ANTONELLI CHRISTINA (Reg.NO 120185540) SUSTAINABLE DESIGN PROJECT | MSC IN SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD | 31.05.2013

TECHNICAL REPORT

Project Introduction

ANTONELLI CHRISTINA (Reg.NO 120185540) | SUSTAINABLE DESIGN PROJECT | MSC IN SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD | Tutors: Marriane Heaslip, Aidan Hoggard, Nicola McHale, Mark Parsons, Catherine Skeltcher

Site Analysis The projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s site is located in Nether Edge, a sub-urban setting in the west part of Sheffield, UK. There are five existing properties on the site (Merlin Theatre, Tintagel House, Former Kindergarten and two residences) and the project involves working with Freeman College (part of the Ruskin Mill Educational Trust). The scope of the project is to re-model creatively the existing site in a way that will be suitable for the needs of the college, providing mainly educational and residential spaces for its students, but also integrating community facilities and broaden links with the local community.

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1.Merlin Theatre 2.Tintagel House 3.Former Kindergarten 4.House 1 5.House 2

Site Analysis The first stage of the analysis required the creation of the site– buildings’ drawings through accurate measurements on site, as the only existing drawings obtained from the Freeman College were not scaled sketches. A detailed site inspection and photographical representation was carried out after that, in order to identify the site potentials and current problems.

Site Analysis

The environmental analysis indicates that the green area between the residencies and the Merlin Theatre-Tintagel House receives daylight throughout the whole year. This will be taken into account into the design process.The southeastern part of the site is the most favorable in terms of direct sunlight. This will be taken into account into the sustainability strategy.

Project Brief

THEATRE

PUBLIC SPACES PRIVATE SPACES SEMI PUBLIC SPACES

Site Design Strategy The existing houses are selected to be the new residential buildings. Autistic students need domestic scale buildings in order to be able to familiarize and feel comfortable and independent in them. It is ideal for them to live in small groups of 4-6 people, something which is possible in the existing buildings. There is also available outdoor space to be personalized by them. The Tintagel house is selected to host the conventional educational spaces, the personnel space and the public office of the school. The theatre is proposed to be open to the public, but it could also be used from the students during the daytime. The upper level of the theatre is the community space which can be hired for events from the local community. The former kindergarten will host the exhibition. In general, the proposal focuses on addressing the issues of accessibility and circulation in the existing buildings and connecting the residencies with the school-theatre. The connection is achieved through a new earth sheltered building which hosts the workshop spaces and functions as circulation zone. (Autistic people need to establish daily routines and are getting easily distracted from not clear paths-New building should establish a clear circulation zone for them) The key elements that led to this decision are: -Separate public visitors from vulnerable students -Benefit from the existing landscape and integrate it in the overall design

Diagrams exploring different internal spatial arrangements of the new building

Vehicular (blue) and pedestrian (red) circulation diagrams Before (left) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; After (right)

Site Design Strategy

Conceptual Process and Analysis

Site Design Strategy

General Plan landscape design

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Design Proposal The main idea of the new building is that it can be organized according to the students needs and desires (idea of metamorphosis in nature transforms into metamorphosis in space) .There are two enclosed cells-classrooms and are intended to host the rehearsal classes which need to be soundproof. There is also an outdoor cell which functions as the smoking shelter around three existing trees. The crafts classroom is located next to the existing café courtyard. Students can exhibit their works temporary and in this way it would be visible to the public visitors which circulate around the café and courtyard. The horticulture classroom is located close to the green garden, which will be the main workshop garden area. The former entrance of the theatre is now becoming the private entrance for the students directly from their workshops. The rest of the plan can host the textile and weaving classes. The looms , furniture and all the equipment used in the workshops can be stored in the main retaining wall., in order to retain the openness of the space. There are benches and openings through the walls that are strategically located. The main purpose is to create spaces of different qualities (more private or not) in order to cover the needs of the autistic people which sometimes want to be isolated and other time want to interact and be social. The arrangement intends to enhance the exploration and stimulate the senses of the students. The curves have been selected as a design element that stems from Steiner’s architectural theory of organic forms.

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Design Proposal

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Project Sustainability Agenda A summary of the RE technologies as analyzed with their key aspects are shown on the table below: Overview of Renewable Energy Technologies In order to form a well informed solution for the scheme, it is necessary to explore the range of available RE technologies today. It should be noted that the mix of energy use is a determinant factor on the selection process for the most appropriate RE technologies strategy. This is due to the fact that different RE technologies are capable of generating either heat, cool, electricity or combinations of these. Below are shown the potentials of every RE technology.

Calculation of Energy Requirements According to the energy benchmarks(CIBSE Guide TM46), for every category there are different electricity and heating demands. Thus, in order to calculate the overall annual energy demands of the proposed scheme, first were identified all the different space categories of the scheme. Multiplying the space area by the energy benchmark it is then calculated the electricity and heating demand for every different space category. The sum of all the subdemands gives the total energy requirement of the scheme. Total annual energy demands: 707,726.5 kWh Total annual CO2 emissions : 193,862.045 kgCO2

Project Sustainability Agenda Renewable Energy Proposal In the provision of RE technologies the following factors should be carefully considered: -Use of RE technologies that can be compatible with existing systems in the buildings, i.e. heating systems -Use of RE technologies that do not create excessive spatial, visual or acoustic impact on the site -Use of RE technologies that can benefit from grant business schemes and operate profitable for the Freeman College, which is mostly a fund-operating organization -Use of RE technologies that comprise within the planning permissions and regulations of the area . The analysis of the RE opportunities showed that solar thermal, PV panels, GSHPs and Biomass combustion are eligible RE technologies for the proposed scheme within its context. The break down of the energy demands shows that 165,221.5 kWh/annum are required as electricity and 542,505 kWh/annum are required as heating energy. The installation of PV panels on the suitable roofs’ area (147m2) would generate on ideal conditions: 147x10 W = 1,470 W/h x 5 h/day = 7,350 W/day = 7. 350kW/day x 365 days/year = 2,682.75 kW/year. (For this calculation was taken as a general “rule of thumb” that 1m2 of PV panels can generate 10W of electricity per hour and that in an average will be efficient for 5 hours every day per year) This number shows clearly that the inclusion of PV panels at its most is not sufficient to fulfill the electricity requirements of the scheme. In addition, the installation of PV panels on the existing buildings, which play a sensitive role to the ethos of Steiner education that Freeman College embraces, increases some doubts on their suitability to the holistic design approach. All of the above along with the fact that PV panels can only generate energy during daytime leads to the adoption of another approach. The two other eligible options for generating electricity are the biomass combustion and the GSHPs. The installation of a horizontal GSHPs could be adopted as there is plenty unbuilt area of soil ground on site. However, the scheme proposes the use of these areas for landscape interventions and horticulture purposes, making difficult the provision of a pump system that would require frequent control or maintenance. Furthermore, a GSHPs would increase the overall cost of installation as it would require the upgrade of the existing fuel boiler to a compatible one. Thus, the option of installing a biomass boiler is proven to be the most suitable for the scheme. A small building a bit away from the school spaces would be ideal to host the boiler and the storage space, as it will generate noise. This building needs a chimney that stands proud of the building roofline and is not close to any opening windows (to preserve air quality). Additionally, there should be allowed space for trucks to deliver and unload the biomass direct to where it is stored. This could ideally be placed at the southwestern corner of the site where a parking lot exists. This spot has direct vehicle access and is in a decent distance from the educational spaces, but also from nearby neighbor buildings. The proximity of trees could also function positively on cleaning the boiler emissions. A detailed assessment should be carried out in order to size the appropriate storage tanks and boiler plant. The fuel could be pellet sourced locally from Retford which is only 30 miles away from Sheffield, minimizing transportation CO2 emissions. A well design biomass boiler could fulfill the energy requirements of the scheme.

Apart from the inclusion of RE technologies, the proposal focuses on managing and treating properly the water and waste on site. An approach of recycling and reusing existing materials is also adopted. The main elements of the proposal are: -Rainwater collection and reuse for irrigation, flushing toilets and improving the microclimate conditions -Grey water treatment and reuse for flushing toilets -Rammed earth walls construction using the existing soil from site -Compostation of waste on site

The Biomass boiler could ideally operate in conjunction with a solar thermal system on the roofs of the existing buildings and an installation of an array of PV panels at the edge of the new proposed earth sheltered building. The solar thermal system is not contradicting with visual impact issues, as it would require the coverage of only a small area for every roof. For example, at each house 4 - 6m2 of panels are sufficient to cover their hot water demands. The PV panels’ adjustable array of 45m2 area, could function as solar collector but also as a shading device for the south glazing façade. It could generate electricity equal to 82.105 kWh/annum, half of the required amount according to the energy demands. Below, are shown briefly the advantages of the RE proposal.

Sustainability Specialism

The average water demands of the scheme have been calculated according to the different number of users and operation days for each space. The calculations show that with proper management of the rainwater that falls on site, the demands of nont potable water could be covered, reflecting to notable financial savings for Freeman College.

Sustainability Specialism Two main water systems -Grey water collection and treatment through plants of rain garden (collection only from the buildings that are above the level of raingarden-107.20m). Note that at the last part, the water is almost clean and free of smells. Thus, it is partly exposed to the water lilies pond, before it enters to the storage tank. -Rainwater collected from the green roof of the new building and rainwater soaked up from the ground is collected through bioretention processes and channeled through the ponds into the storage tank. Water creates a pleasant environment for the students both outside but also inside through the reflections on the glazed faรงade. It can be part of an overall educational process for the students and the public visitors.

Systems diagram