News
New Office for the British Geological Survey centre designed as bedrock of sustainability 1 March 2007
Innovative practice Pick Everard has been appointed as architects and lead consultants for a new administrative centre for office block for the British Geological Survey (BGS) on the base at its headquarters the Kingsley Dunham Centre in Keyworth, near Nottingham. Work starts in August 2007, with completion scheduled for October 2008. The £6m construction project is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. + OSI.and The Office of Science and Innovation (OSI).
With over 500 scientists among its 800-stong staff, British Geological Society Survey is the UK's centre for information and expertise about earth sciences. BGS's aim is to promote the discovery, understanding and enjoyment of the world of geosciences and its work covers every imaginable topic concerned with the earth's surface and its subsurface geology, from fossils, rocks, volcanoes and earthquakes to environmental pollution, coastal and soil erosion.
Pick Everard's main objectives are that the new building will meet the administrative, scientific and IT needs of the BGS and be sustainable and energy efficient. The entire design philosophy reflects those objectives and Pick Everard and the BGS are aiming for the hard to achieve BREEAM ‘excellent' rating.
The current BGS centre is accommodation currently housed in comprises six inconveniently separate buildings in theobsolete buildings at the Kingsley Dunham Centre. These will be demolished and replaced with a single, purpose-designed structure amongst existing buildings on the site. The main structures will be wood with glue laminated frames and TermoDeck floor slabs - the first time this combination has been used in this country.
TermoDeck is a fan assisted temperature control and ventilation system that uses the high thermal mass of structural, hollowcore floor slabs to act as heat exchange elements for transferring heat around the building. The TermoDeck system has a low carbon footprint, offers significant reductions in running costs and can deliver temperature controlled and draught-free fresh air to all parts of the building in a visually unobtrusive and environmentally friendly manner. The system was also used in the highly innovative Met Office headquarters near Exeter, which opened in 2004.
The BGS centrenew offices haves been designed with an atrium, which will be covered with ETFE panels, the same material used for the Eden Project domes and at the National Space Centre. This economical, lightweight plastic offers corrosion resistance, flexibility and strength over a range of temperatures. An entrance pod will appear to float through the ETFE layer and will be dressed with classic copper, gradually mellowing with age to form a verdigris patina. The pod will sit on top of gabion retaining walls - specialist galvanised steel cages containing carefully selected local stone. Traditionally used as an engineering solution, the gabion will provide a natural stone plinth and a visual reference to the geology of the site and to the activities of the BGS. Architectural advisors are making use of the BGS's own expertise in selecting the stone to be used in the construction. All of it will be sourced from within the UK, and is intended to reflect the varying geological landscape of this country.
The atrium takes full advantage of the light that passes easily through the EFTE panels. “We did bear in mind the British weather,†said Richard Cooper, Associate at Pick Everard, “so the idea was to make the atrium feel like an airy, outside space, even though you're safely inside.â€
“This is a particularly exciting commission,†said Greg Marrows, Project Manager at Turner and Townsend. “The importance of sustainability and energy saving cannot be overemphasised, and we are proud to be associated with innovation and high quality design.â€
