Building information modelling and parametric modelling were key to the design and construction of the Museum of the Future, in Dubai, which won a design award for its unique façade. Andy Pearson reports on how the use of technology made the building possible
Category: Case Studies
Making a splash: recovering heat from mini data centres for leisure centres
A project that uses waste heat from a mini data centre to warm a public swimming pool in Devon hit the headlines last month. Molly Tooher-Rudd talks to the company behind the technology and hears about its ambitious plans to deploy ‘digital boilers’ in every sector
Taking the waters: recovering heat from the Roman Baths
Heat from Bath’s hot springs is being used to warm surrounding buildings including the new Clore Learning Centre. Andy Pearson finds out how Buro Happold extracting heat from the mineral-rich waters of the Roman Baths
Designing net zero for pupil wellbeing
Cundall has created new premises for Beormund Primary School that not only meet net zero aspirations, but also cater for the social, emotional and mental health needs of the school’s pupils. Andy Pearson reports
CIBSE Building Performance Champion: getting real with retrofits
To meet its net zero targets, the UK has to get to grips with carbon emissions in its ageing houses, and fast. The Welsh School of Architecture’s retrofit programme is doing just that and its pioneering work was recognised last month when it was named CIBSE’s 2023 Building Performance Champion. Andy Pearson reports
Circular route: New Street station lighting retrofit
To minimise embodied carbon in the retrofitting of nearly 900 luminaires at Birmingham’s New Street station, Q Sustain used CIBSE TM65 to calculate the potential savings of reusing existing luminaires. The firm’s Lovely Chavan and Yara Bekdache explain how it saved more than 163 tonnes of embodied carbon
Arriving on Platform G: Google’s new King’s Cross office
Google’s landmark ‘Platform G’ office development will be arriving in King’s Cross, London in 2024. Andy Pearson talks
to building services consultant Atelier Ten to find out how a BIM model was used to coordinate the highly innovative buildings services design along its 330-metre length
Framing finesse: Paddington Square’s innovative façade
The façade at Paddington Square in West London is anything but straightforward. Mace’s Ovi Mazareanu, and WSP’s Michele Sauchelli and Serena Gugliotta, describe how the client’s demand for energy efficiency and performance led to the design team taking a collaborative and innovative approach
Case study: targeting UK’s highest Nabers rating in Pimlico
The Belgrave Road office development in London is the first to receive a Nabers UK 5.5 target rating for its carefully considered design. Andy Pearson finds out how the rating scheme’s independent design review process drove down operational energy use on the hybrid ambient loop/variable refrigerant flow scheme
Net zero: lessons from practice
A deep-dive study on net zero carbon by architect AHMM is being put into practice at an ambitious mixed-use project featuring two towers in London. AHMM’s Dr Craig Robertson and Dr Simon Hatherley share lessons learned