plan_build

Project overview

Pembrokeshire College commissioned Austin Smith Lord (ASL) to undertake a thorough and comprehensive review of its estates portfolio and to review space allocations against student numbers. This process resulted in ASL producing a framework masterplan for the College that would enable a strategic and coherent development of the estate.

The new Construction Technology Centre is the second phase of the implementation of the College’s masterplan and has added an additional 1,957m2 of floor space to the College’s main campus site. This new space provides excellent new learning facilities for teaching construction skills and has allowed the relocation of the College brickwork facilities from its old Snowdrop Lane premises onto the main campus in the summer of 2008.

Relocating the brickwork facilities onto the main campus site has reduced traffic movement during the day as previously both staff and students had to travel to the main campus site on a regular basis throughout the week to use resources based in the main building.

The new building is a flagship for Pembrokeshire College’s commitment to sustainable design; achieving BREEAM Excellent and WRAP 25% for recyclable materials.

Building overview

Carpentry and bricklaying students, who will learn their trades in the new Construction Technology Centre, will be able to see the construction techniques of the future at first hand.

The Centre is a hybrid of concrete frame for the lower ground floor and steel frame for ground and first floors. The building is built into a bank with the lower ground floor being part-basement with a 400mm retaining wall to the west elevation. The external fabric at lower ground and ground floors is brick outer leaf with composite aluminium cladding to first floor and above. The roof is standing seam metal.

Insulation is 25% more efficient than standard, with zero ozone depletion potential. A biomass boiler provides zero carbon fuel, and solar panels give free water heating for the building.

Water use is kept to a minimum, with rainwater harvested for toilets. Energy is managed using sensors to shut off lights when no one is present, and a building management system means improved efficiency.

Natural daylight has been exploited as far as possible, as well as natural ventilation. Even the steel used in the building has been assessed for its recycled content.

Key facilities

The new building includes the following:

Space	Area (m2)
Ground and Lower Ground Floors
Carpentry Workshop 1	100
Carpentry Project Area 1	102
Carpentry Workshop 2	101
Carpentry Project Area 2	103
Carpentry Machine Shop	155.5
Carpentry Tool Store	13.8
Carpentry Timber Store	33
Dust Extraction Room	8
Brick Workshop	301.1
Brick Cutter Room	6.7
Store	44.9
Tool Store	14.4
Combined Facilities
3 x Classrooms (max 20 students each)	126
1 x Office (10 staff)	87.8
Student Changing Area and Lockers	55.7
Resources Area	39.6
Portfolio Storage	7.7
Toilets	56.5
Lift	9.2
Biomass Fuel Store	4.9
Biomass Boiler Room	12.1
Electrical Switch Room	3.9
Circulation	202.9
Mezzanine Level
Plant Room	69.5
Mothballed Space	244.6
Platform	53.5
Total	1957.3

Key building information

The following is list of key information data relating to the new Construction Technology Centre:

BREEAM Rating and score	Excellent Score 72.54%
Basic Building Cost – m2	£721.54
Service Costs - £/m2	£271.78
External Works - £/m2	£96.33
Gross Floor Area – m2	1,957m2
Total Area of Site	2,355m2
Predicted Electricity Consumption	56 kWh/m2
Predicted Fossil Fuel Consumption	5 kWh/m2
Predicted Renewable Energy Generation	120,500 kWh/m2
Predicted Water Use	1.4m3/per GIA/year
Predicted Water Use (provided by rainwater or grey water)	50%

Innovative and low impact design features

Some of the key innovative and low impact design features of the building include:

• Maximised Natural Lighting
• Limited Mechanical Ventilation
• Water Use – harvesting and conserving
• Use of Green Guide A-Rated Materials
• No AC = No Refrigerants
• ‘Medium’ Level Renewables
• Lighting Control System
• Building Management System
• FSC Certified Timber
• Insulants: ODP – Zero; GWP<5
• 25% improved U values
• Improved Ecology – increased indigenous species
• Green Travel Plan – public transport and improved cycling facilities

Steps taken during construction to reduce environmental impact

The Pembrokeshire College site was monitored as part of the Considerate Constructors Scheme and a number of steps were taken during the construction process to reduce the environmental impact. They included the following:

Settlement tank

The main contractor, Dawnus Construction Ltd, incorporated a settlement tank to handle the ground water that affected the site. Any silt or construction waste contained in the ground water was directed to the settlement tank where it was separated and prevented from entering the nearby water course before the silt was completely removed.

Recycled construction waste

Dawnus Construction were committed to recycling construction waste. They segregated waste into separate skips and these were removed by a licensed contractor for recycling. The separate skips included; timber, inert, metals and general waste.

FSC timber

The timber that was used on the site was sourced from sustainable means and was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and also met the requirements of PEFC and had a BM TRADA certification.

Cement silo

A cement silo was also situated on the site which enabled the site to use cement as it is required rather than mixing with diesel cement mixers. This reduced the amount of cement waste and the possible contamination of water courses by washing out of the mixers on site. The cement was pumped into containers and carried by telehandler to the required area for use. This method also reduced the amount of waste as the bricklayers could demand the required amount necessary for the work involved. The silo was situated well away from the water course so there was no possibility of contamination. The silo was connected to a water-bowser rather than being directly linked to a standpipe water supply. This was helpful in monitoring the consumption of water therefore water was only used when it was needed which reduced the risk of it being left running.

Reduced timber wastage

The blocks that were delivered to the project originally came with no pallets provided for the handling of these items which generated a certain amount of waste due to the damage caused by their handling. It was therefore insisted upon that all future deliveries were palleted, the pallets were on a hire and return basis so that there was no timber wastage created.