Passivent help school achieve 'very good' mark

A primary school designed as the blueprint of sustainability has achieved a BREEAM rating of 'very good', primarily through its utilisation of Passivent natural ventilation technology.

Designed by architects Harding Neill and Watson, the concept for the new GBP2.4m, 210-place Walberton and Binsted Primary School was environmentally-modelled before construction to test its sustainable strategies, which include passive natural ventilation.

Since being built, the school has been BREEAM assessed, and achieved a 'very good' rating, with the Passivent ventilation identified as a 'key innovative and low impact design' feature.

Some 65 Passivent Aircool ventilators built into the faandccedil;ade of the single-storey building provide a combination of cross and stack ventilation, whereby warm air rises, drawing fresh air into the seven classrooms, practical room, studio, school hall, kiln room and administrative wing at low level, and exhausting the 'used' air via high level window Aircools along the corridor.

The system utilises natural air movement principles to maintain a controlled, constant yet draught-free flow fresh air into the school, better than DfES ventilation guidelines.

Architect Neil Henderson commented, "Our brief was to design a sustainable flagship school for West Sussex County Council".

"In environmental modeling, the concept performed very well".

"The BREEAM final assessment report gave a score of very good, attributing key innovative and low impact design features to be the natural ventilation exceeding current requirements, the high levels of natural daylight, high thermal performance and the low visual impact of the building".

Passivent maintains its natural ventilation systems reduce energy consumption over air conditioned buildings by up to 50%, yield 15% savings on capital costs and 75% savings on maintenance costs, and eliminate the need for a separate plant room.

The use of natural air movement and temperatures also gives "free" cooling at night.

Passivent is part of the Building Product Design Group and is the UK's leading designer and supplier of natural ventilation systems for both domestic and commercial applications.

The company is a founder member of the NatVent EC-EU-funded project co-ordinated by the Building Research establishment to develop practical natural ventilation solutions for the commercial sector, and has also contributed to the BISRIA Guide BG2/2005 Wind Driven Natural Ventilation Systems, as well as being a member of the DfES steering committee on natural ventilation guidance for schools, Building Bulletin 101.

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