Port Talbot Justice Centre has been awarded the BREEAM Courts Award at the BREEAM Wales Awards 2011. Hoare Lea acted as MEP consulting engineers and provided specialist BREEAM Assessor services for the Centre, which houses an Informal Youth Court, Tribunal Courts and a two-storey Central Fines Unit.
BREEAM ‘Excellent’ was a prerequisite of the brief from HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the building’s BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating supports the Ministry of Justice Climate Change Plan.
The awards recognise and reward the highest scoring buildings in Wales under BREEAM. The winning buildings have all been independently assessed and certified – and as such represent genuine examples of sustainability and are some of the best examples of sustainable design and construction across Wales.
The Justice Centre attained an EPC rating of 27. Its sustainability strategy is based on the first principles of sustainable design namely orientation, minimisation of solar gain, natural ventilation and thermal efficiency. The centre has delivered a 39.7% reduction in CO2 emissions through the installation of an air source heat pump and solar thermal water heating. The building also regulates its environment through:
•A super insulated and airtight façade
•North-South orientation to minimise heat loss and solar gain
•Enhanced daylighting which reduces reliance on artificial lighting
•Grey water recycling
•Use of recycled materials
•Modularisation of the façade, creating less waste
•Flexibility of building – it can function solely as an office if required
•Roof-mounted solar panels for hot water
Paragraphs 1-4 courtesy of www.breeam.org
