Windcatchers and Sunpipes fitted at wildlife park

Monodraught has supplied Windcatcher natural ventilation systems and Sunpipe natural lighting units for Marwell Wildlife Park's new Cafe Graze restaurant.

Cafe Graze is designed to provide grandstand views of Marwell's African Valley, where Grevy's zebras, ostriches and waterbucks roam free.

Windcatcher natural ventilation systems and Sunpipe natural daylight units were considered very early on in the concept for Cafe Graze, as the brief from Marwell was to make the building as sustainable as possible.

Garry Reynolds of Ray Hole Architects said: 'With a lot to achieve within the project's GBP1.2m budget, there were fairly tight limitations, so we adopted back-to-basics philosophies, one of which was to naturally ventilate the building wherever we could and another was to provide as much natural daylight into the building as possible.

'Importantly, both reduce energy costs.

'At first, we were concerned that it would mean using a mechanical system.

'However, the MandE contractor suggested a "hybrid" system using a mechanical extractor in the kitchen as required by building regulations and Monodraught Windcatcher natural ventilation units installed in the restaurant roof area.

'The mechanical extractor creates sufficient negative pressure to draw in air through the Windcatchers, whose control dampers are linked to the building's management system via a Monodraught Invent control unit.

'The Monodraught natural ventilation system varies the volume of fresh air to create a comfortable environment throughout the restaurant,' he added.

The company's technical team also surveyed the restaurant space to work out the number of Sunpipes needed, taking into account that, to maximise the building's main view over the valley, all the glazing was concentrated on one end of the building.

In order to minimise energy losses, many of the back-of-house areas were highly insulated, with no windows in those spaces.

According to Reynolds, the Sunpipes proved to be an effective way of getting natural light into those spaces and far fewer than expected were needed to achieve the levels of natural daylight required.

While Marwell Wildlife wanted to visually express any sustainable element of the project wherever possible, the 1m-high Windcatcher units are visible but blend in well.

Windcatchers are also fitted in one of the wildlife park's ungulate buildings, which is home to Congo buffalos and bongos.

It is essential that this building is effectively ventilated to ensure that noxious gases, moisture and excessive heat, all produced by the animals, are removed.

Jon Adams, facilities manager at Marwell Wildlife, said: 'A natural ventilation strategy seemed ideal and is important, particularly for large animals such as the Congo buffalo and bongo, to provide a comfortable environment.

'Doors need to be open during the day to allow animals access outside but are usually closed when the animals are in at night.

'Throughout the year, the Monodraught Windcatcher installation automatically provides the level of natural ventilation required without the need for manual control,' he added.

Commenting for the ungulate building's consultant, Radley House Partnership, David Pattison said that Marwell Wildlife had traditionally used mechanical systems, but in such a large building the wildlife park's management was keen to address 'green' issues in order to incorporate energy-free solutions wherever possible.

He said: 'Monodraught was able to provide the ideal solution - controllable natural ventilation.

'The variable dampers of the Windcatcher units are controlled by Monodraught's own Invent control system, which uses temperature and CO2 sensors to maintain a comfortable atmosphere,' added Pattison.

According to Prof Terry Payne of Monodraught, natural lighting and ventilation systems have proven health benefits for animals and humans.

Three Windcatchers and eight Sunpipes are installed in the Marwell Wildlife restaurant and four Windcatchers are installed in the ungulate building.

Sunpipes are also having a beneficial effect on the animals in a refurbished Chimpanzee House at the Welsh Mountain Zoo and in a quarantine unit at Chester Zoo.

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