Taking building efficiency to a new level

The University of Leicester is blazing a trail for sustainability with a new building that will achieve record levels of energy efficiency.

The £42 million Centre for Medicine building, which is currently under construction, is set to become the largest Passivhaus building in the UK when it opens during the next academic year.

Passivhaus is an international energy performance standard which minimises the ‘heating demand’ of a building. It can be applied to commercial, industrial and public buildings as well as residential dwellings.

In Leicester, the Centre for Medicine building will be extremely well insulated and air tight to prevent heat leakage through the windows, walls, floor and roof. A state-of-the-art heating, cooling and ventilation system will ensure comfort for staff, students and visitors.

The excellent thermal performance of the building is anticipated to reduce the university’s energy bill for its new teaching and research facility by six times.

Paul Nesbitt, operations manager at construction firm Willmott Dixon, explained: “The University of Leicester’s new Centre for Medicine will achieve Passivhaus accreditation which means it will be super energy efficient. We have super levels of insulation, all of the glazing will be triple glazed, and we have a 1.6km underground heat recovery pipe network which will effectively provide free air conditioning and temperature control to the building.

“I have built a number of schools and hospitals previously and this building, mainly because of its leading-edge design, will be ten times more energy efficient than a normal building.”

One of the most striking features of the Centre for Medicine will be a green wall and roof, with a planting regime specifically designed to attract insects and birds which will help pollination, and to promote bio-diversity. External planting will also help reduce the overall temperature of the building, the university said.

Want to know more? Check out this report on the project.