Well vetted

Haden Young’s construction manager Dennis Pither seems keen to show off the ‘worm farm’ that lies within shudderingly close proximity to the Veterinary Laboratory Agency’s new administration building.

Fortunately, any potential encounter with a killer tapeworm is forgotten during a thorough tour around the BREEAM ‘excellent’-rated Building 33.

The Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Its research is focused on animal health and welfare, public health and food safety.

The agency consists of 16 laboratories across the UK, including its central facility and headquarters in Weybridge, Surrey, where Building 33 is based.

“We wanted this to be a clear example of DEFRA’s commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency,” said Adam Joseph, DEFRA’s project manager.

The structure boasts exceptionally low CO2 emissions, and DEFRA has certainly hit the ground running with its renewables-laden exemplar, as has the m&e team that made it happen.

Haden Young’s London and South-East arm won the £4.5m m&e job, working alongside Shepherd Construction to integrate the new eco-building with an existing 1930s structure.

On first pulling into the driveway, you could be forgiven for thinking that integration was the last thing on the designers’ minds.

The original facade is strikingly at odds with the new-build, with its wooden panelling, modern brickwork and flat roofing. From an m&e point of view, it’s a mixed bag, although the same sustainable systems and products have been incorporated into both old and new areas where possible.

Set in concrete

Heating, cooling and ventilation throughout the newly built sections of Building 33 is provided by Tarmac’s TermoDeck.

“The technology’s been around for quite a while. It hasn’t really caught on to that extent, although it’s on the increase,” says Haden Young’s senior project manager, John Green.

Integrating the services with the structure of the building in this manner meant that a close partnership with Shepherd Construction was necessary from the very beginning of the project, an element still lacking from some jobs.

“The whole project has been a collaborative one between us, Shepherd and the client. It’s been one of those projects that hasn’t been adversarial, which has helped everything run smoothly, especially when it comes to the TermoDeck,” says Keith Thomas of project management firm Cyril Sweett.

Green readily agrees. “It’s recognising that m&e is a major part of an installation. The old-fashioned view was that the builder controls everything, whereas we all know that the m&e team has a major role as well. Everyone has their part to play and it should be recognised.”

The Building 33 project was managed by Haden Young’s in-house m&e design team, which helped forge a close working relationship from early on in the project.

Haden Young construction manager Dennis Pither explains.

“Haden Young had installed the same TermoDeck system at Rothamsted, a government agricultural research centre in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, and they were very positive about it. We went there to see it before the decision was taken with the design team to implement it on this job.”

Fresh thinking

One of the first renewable technologies to strike visitors as they draw close to Building 33 is the four impressively large vertical wind turbines mounted on its roof.

Each provides 6 kW of energy, although Green admits that they were predominantly chosen as a statement to demonstrate DEFRA’s commitment to sustainable construction. In this case, the solution has not been without its challenges.

The vastness of the site and the building’s administrative function mean that the only traces of animal I get to lay eyes on during my trip around this veterinary centre of excellence are a few pigeon feathers floating up around us as we enter one of the rooftop plant rooms.

“Looks like that one didn’t make it with the turbines,” laughs Green. Fortunately, he is joking. Safety sensors linked to the BMS mean that the owner of those feathers is probably alive and well and living in Barbados.

Green explains. “We had a small number of problems as you always do with new technology.

“At first, the system shut down when birds were even getting close to the turbines. A software modification has been implemented and, basically, it’s working, but it is oversensitive on the safety circuit at the moment. Still, better over than under.”

Noise pollution was also an issue, although the low hum these particular gentle giants emit seems innocuous enough.

“The building was the last one before we lost Crown immunity, so we had to resubmit planning applications for the wind turbines,” says Thomas.

“The main issue with that was the noise. But the name of the product gives it away: Quiet Revolution. So that box got ticked.”

Solar power

Haden Young installed 40m2 of solar collectors on the roof of Building 33 in order to provide hot water services. These are used in conjunction with low-NOx condensing boilers.

Water and energy savings are achieved throughout both the new-build and original structure.

Electronic controls provide water economies with the use of touch sensors and control valves on sanitaryware. Motorised valves shut off water to toilets when not in use.

The building management system installed by subcontractor CDH monitors water use and detects waste.

Having learned all this, stopping off to use the lavatory feels disconcertingly Orwellian, but at least it’s all for a good cause.

Rainwater harvesting is also in use within the building, with untreated water collected and stored to flush toilets and provide irrigation to surrounding landscaping.

“One solution we did discard, was photovoltaic cells because the predicted payback was 70 years, which is outside the 60-year design life of the building,” says Thomas.

Bright future

Building 33’s lighting scheme is designed to include the latest energy-saving technologies.

All lamps are T5-operated via digital ballasts, and lighting controls have been provided throughout to reduce energy consumption through the use of daylight-linking absence detection and zonal control.

Within the airy, high-ceilinged reception, suspended luminaires have been installed using an innovative motorised system, meaning they can be brought down automatically to low levels when bulbs need to be changed, avoiding the dangers associated with working from height and reducing maintenance visits.

The majority of lighting within the reception area is provided by LEDs.

“These new generation LEDs are really powerful – it’s not like it used to be,” says Green, as he leads us through a well-lit setting that still feels refreshingly natural, owing to daylight sensors and generously sized windows.

Within office spaces, 350 lux lights also dim in accordance with levels of natural daylight, and lighting turns off automatically after 20 minutes if the room is unoccupied.

All in all, it is a pretty impressive array of green technologies, but did integrating this ambitious new-build with an existing 1930s structure bring with it any major challenges on the services side?

“Logistically, yes. Buildings of the 1930s are simply not made for 2008 projects, especially within the plant room areas,” admits Green.

“It was very compact space, and it presented a few challenges with regards to getting in the equipment.

“Technically speaking, we were pushed for room,” he laughs. “But we made sure we utilised the spaces to the very best of our abilities.”

This was aided by 3D modelling, selected for the older plant rooms despite the fact that 2D modelling was judged satisfactory for the rest of the building.

Perhaps the Haden Young team felt it had something to make up for when it came to size as Building 33’s additional plant rooms, positioned on the new-build rooftops, are large enough to party in.

Ensuring that the building envelope was as airtight as possible in order to satisfy Part L requirements was also more of a task, due to the inclusion of the original building.

“On the air-tightness test, the building regs target is below 10,” explains Thomas.

“But in the end, this building, including the old part, scored just below five. It’s a very good achievement. But that took a lot of hard work, and not just by those putting the structure up. It’s also down to the m&e. When you’ve got ductwork and penetrations through holes, making sure it’s completely sealed up and put back together properly is viewed as more and more important.”

Pipework above 80 mm was prefabricated within both the east and west new-build plant rooms, as was the chiller.

“It saves energy and time, but also improves the quality,” says Green.

On the job

The reduction of carbon dioxide emissions began before the building even came to life.

Haden Young took pains to keep its carbon footprint to a minimum during the construction phase, and the management of waste is a standard part of the firm’s control.

As an ISO14001 certified contractor, Haden Young employs an Environmental Management System, which dictates that everything from handling site waste to recycling toner cartridges is considered.

Continual checks were made and recorded against environmental check lists.

Responsibilities have not diminished now that Building 33 has been completed and fully occupied by public sector staff.

An electronic display in the main entrance indicates how much of the building’s electricity is being generated from renewable sources.

Crucially, emissions and energy use will also be monitored and analysed by a specialist firm over the next 6-12 months to see how much has been saved.

Pither, for one, seems confident that Haden Young’s modelling estimates will pay off. “One of the challenges we faced was actually improving on our BREEAM rating,” he says proudly. “We’ve already been getting better results than we were asked for.”