Hertfordshire County Councils' Building Future Awards 2011.

This new complex of buildings has been designed to support Bhaktivedanata Manor in the continuation of its ethical farming and cow protection scheme. The new buildings consist of a hay barn, two cow sheds, equipment stores, animal infirmary and a new visitor centre for pilgrims and visiting school groups. The new visitor centre houses cow and calf pens, a milking parlour and dairy, a farm office and reception, oxen pen and an ox power centre equipped with oxmill and milling machinery.

Translucent corrugated sheeting has been used for the roofs of the cow shed and barn areas – allowing natural light in and reducing energy usage. A minimum of concrete and steel was used in the construction of the new buildings.

The green oak frame of the complex was sourced from a sustainable forest in Estissac, France. This is accompanied by the use of untreated larch for cladding and shingle for the roofing. The use of Yorkshire boarding also provides good screening and ensures there is excellent ventilation throughout. Use of such materials means the buildings have been designed to last and even improve with age.

All of the water needed for the day-to-day functioning of the farm is harvested from the roof and stored in a 20,000 litre tank. In addition, heating for the visitor centre is provided from an air source heat pump.

The construction of a slurry pit in a nearby meadow ensures the farm has its own source of fertiliser. Provision has also been made on the hay barn and the cow sheds for the installation of a sedum roof and a living wall to the west-facing flank wall.

Jeremy Caulton, Hertfordshire Building Futures Awards judge, said: “The innovative design of this new complex fully complements Bhaktivedanta Manor’s ethical and sustainable approach to farming. The choice and use of materials in the construction of the complex ensures that it is bright and airy - perfect conditions for both the Farm’s visitors and animal husbandry.”

The Lee Valley White Water Centre is a new Olympic venue that will host the white water canoeing event at the 2012 Games. It is located in the metropolitan green belt and at the heart of the Lee Valley Regional Park.

The venue is a hybrid design; partly providing an idyllic and well-landscaped accompaniment to the park, and partly providing an iconic building and an Olympic spectacle to last as a legacy. The Centre will become an integral part of the Lee Valley Regional Park experience, and a key part of the Waltham Cross Renaissance regeneration strategy.

The Water Centre comprises two courses for the water canoeing event, both of which are fed from pumps capable of delivering up to 13,000 litres per second, using water drawn from an aquifer and stored in a practice lake. Energy is used as efficiently as possible in the development. For example, geothermal and solar thermal systems are used to heat the building, a heat recovery system minimises heat loss, natural ventilation is used where possible, and energy efficient fixtures are used throughout the building.

Within the building, rain water is harvested and used for toilets, and outside, only natural irrigation is used on the grassed landscape areas. Drainage from the Centre runs to grassed drainage swales, particularly crucial given the location of the Centre in the River Lee floodplain.

Not only has sustainability been at the forefront of the design of this facility, but also the appearance of it, and the effect it has on the surrounding landscape. Due to the need to create a hilly landscape and a world-class sporting facility in a flat green belt location, the Centre building has been designed to ‘float’ upon the landscaped hills necessary for the course. The use of wood and black steel within its construction has helped to reduce its impact, while at the same time creating a building which is iconic and distinctive.

Jeremy Caulton, Hertfordshire Building Futures Awards judge, said “The design of the Lee Valley White Water Centre has impressed the judges not only because it is such a harmonious addition to the park, but also because it is an iconic design that will be recognised as an Olympic spectacle for years to come.”

More than just a campus for West Herts College, this four-storey, state-of-the-art building contributes to Watford Council’s vision of a cultural quarter at the top end of Watford town centre. Designed to be a welcoming presence for both students and the wider public, the new building delivers on all fronts.

The development provides purpose-built further education and higher education facilities, which meet the college’s current and future requirements. It consists of a quadrangle teaching block and a linear arm or public wing – or ‘street’ - extending towards Hempstead Road. A four-storey glazed entrance atrium sits between both buildings.

The layout was developed around the concept that the entrance atrium and the ‘street’ will provide the focus for activity. It is the point at which students, staff and visitors enter the College and provides a valuable, flexible space, which can be used for events and displays – as well as providing a range of working learning environments that are visible to inspire interest.

West Herts College placed sustainability at the heart of the design process from the outset. Sustainability elements include solar heating on the roof, to provide hot water for the building; a green roof to provide an insulation layer, which reduces heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter; a biomass boiler, supported by four gas boilers; rainwater harvesting, filtered and used in toilet flushing; rainwater retention, delaying the time for rainwater to enter the sewer system; internal lighting with automatic switches, activated by ambient light levels and movement; and solar shading for the street, atrium and refectory areas.

To demonstrate the benefits to students and the community, the College has reception displays showing the equivalent amount of electricity being saved from the solar panels, and the amount of rainwater collected and used by the college. The College provides an exciting experience for the students and an intriguing resource for the local community.

Isabel McAllister, Hertfordshire Building Futures Awards judge, said: “What is really exciting about West Herts College is that so many of the scheme’s sustainable solutions present educational opportunities, and over time will be incorporated into the curriculum. I was also highly impressed with the Estates team, who were actively engaged in ensuring that the new technologies and controls systems were working well and that the building meets the needs of staff and students.”

Jeremy Caulton, Hertfordshire Building Futures Awards judge, said: “The layout and design of this development is conducive to inspiring not only students at the college but also people in the local community. Visibility is at the heart of its design which allows a great synergy between public and private spaces allowing the College to display the great work it does.”

The development of the University of Hertfordshire’s Law Court building considered sustainability as a key priority from the outset - resulting in a BREEAM Excellent building, with an ‘A’ rated Energy performance certificate, which is both commercially and environmentally efficient. The project was completed on time and in budget, and has exceeded the expectations of its initial objectives.

The University of Hertfordshire has a carbon management plan which commits to reducing carbon emissions by 43% by 2020. The construction of the Law Court was included in this plan, and a total carbon reduction of 25.6% of regulated emissions was achieved through the use of low and zero carbon technologies. Now complete, it is predicted that the Law Court will consume less than 50% of the carbon previously consumed by the Law School it replaced. It benefits from a Combined Heat and Power Plant that reduces primary energy use by 30% compared to heat-only boilers, and a roof mounted photovoltaic panel array which is predicted to generate 4,420 kWh of electricity, saving approximately 2.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum.

The building’s environmental credentials are such that it was awarded an EPC rating above that required for a BREEAM Excellent rating. In addition, the water section of the building’s BREEAM assessment scored 100% through measures including reduced WC flushing capacity and a rainwater harvesting system which collects roof run for WC flushing.

One of the most impressive aspects of the building was the incorporation of a highly innovative E Stack system for ventilating and cooling the building. The E Stack system requires very little energy and when compared with conventional methods of ventilating and cooling buildings delivers very substantial carbon savings at reduced the capital cost and with a much smaller plant space requirement.

In addition to the above, other design and best practice measures contributed to the BREEAM Excellent rating, these include the use of a green concrete specification in the concrete mix, saving 35% on embodied energy when compared to standard concrete (the equivalent saving of around 150 tonnes of carbon dioxide), and a site wide Sustainable Urban Drainage System to reduce peak flows to green field run off rates.

“One of the most impressive things about this project is that sustainability was evidently at the core of all decisions. The design process was client-led and highly integrated. This led to significant cost savings, whist ensuring appropriate specification of construction method and the materials used. The incorporation of ultra-low energy consuming plant and equipment, such as the “free” ventilation and cooling system, was very innovative. These measures will all contribute long-term to reducing carbon emissions and water wastage. The ongoing monitoring and display (on an LCD screen in the entrance foyer) of energy production and consumption (together with water usage and savings) information is also exemplary. The environmental credentials of this building are truly outstanding.”

Barry Shaw, Hertfordshire Building Futures Awards judge, said: “All design aspects of this building have been carefully considered. From the internal acoustics, right down to the choice of external lighting, this new development has been designed not only to support the needs of students, but also to take into consideration those of the local community.”