Consultants design wall with no heat loss
As part of the building-services solution for the Clore Learning Centre at Hampton Court Palace, King Shaw Associates has devised a wall with zero U-value. Other aspects of the design include high insulation, natural ventilation and daylighting. Designed by Fielden Clegg Bradley Architects, this scheme comprises a new single-storey building and the refurbishment of the 17th century barrack block to provide new education facilities for visitors to the palace. The long north wall is to be built as a cavity wall with an external brick skin relating to surrounding garden walls. The unusual strategy to maximise the potential of this design feature separates the structural and environmental envelope of the building from this brick wall to create a ventilation void. A louvre runs between the top of the brick wall and the over-sailing roof, effectively enclosing the space between the walls. Motorised dampers built into the inner wall at floor level will allow fresh air to be introduced via the void. The building’s displacement ventilation will be driven by two tall stack-effect chimneys. In winter, heat passing through the north wall of the building will be captured and reintroduced into the building by the supply air, thus creating a wall with no heat loss. In the summer, the thermal mass of the wall, which is coupled to the ground, will temper incoming supply air to reduce heat gains. The Clore Learning Centre is oriented to create a new courtyard in the space behind the barrack block. The pitched roof is 3.5 m high at the eaves and 6 m high at the ridge. Two tall chimneys provide contemporary references to the many famous chimneys that are part of the palace itself.
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