Guide B essentials – air conditioning and refrigeration

CIBSE’s seminal guide to HVAC systems has had a major revision. Guide B covers best practice for heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration, and noise, and features a new online chapter that will be continually updated. Guy Hundy highlights the main changes in the air conditioning and refrigeration section

Packard Foundation HQ: net zero energy CIBSE award winner

The team behind the Packard Foundation HQ, which won the international project of the year accolade at CIBSE’s awards, set out to encourage others in the US by creating a net zero energy building. Andy Pearson explains how they did it

Hoare Lea and Herzog & De Meuron’s Blavatnik School of Government

Herzog & De Meuron’s sleek, minimal design for University of Oxford’s school of government meant Hoare Lea’s mixed-mode ventilation system had to be discreet, as well as technically savvy. Executive mechanical engineer Richard Brimfield explains how the consultant worked within the architect’s design parameters to ensure the building performed well

Savings bank – cooling at the Bank of England

A new cooling system has reduced the Bank of England’s carbon emissions by 717 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, saving it £150,000 on its annual energy bill. Liza Young finds out how it was achieved

Roundtable: What’s next for heating, cooling and ventilation?

How does our approach to services need to adapt to tackle issues such as climate change? A CIBSE Journal roundtable, sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric, examined the factors influencing the design of heating, cooling and ventilating – now and in the future. Andrew Brister reports

What’s so attractive about magnetic refrigeration?

Magnetic refrigeration has the potential to reduce energy use by 30% and requires no refrigerant. Metkel Yebiyo and Graeme Maidment, of Sirach, describe the technology, its main applications, and the challenges facing firms trying to get the concept to market

Light and shade – Siemens Middle Eastern headquarters

Masdar, in Abu Dhabi, is designed to showcase green technologies in the Middle East. Andy Pearson looks at how the city’s masterplan helped determine Aecom’s passive-first strategy in this Leed Platinum exemplar scheme