| Building type | School |
| Building age | post 2000 |
| Location | Hadleigh |
| Cost of work | £ 2,000,000 |
| District | Babergh |
| Features | Solar Hot Water Heating,Solar PV Panels,Wind Turbine,Green Sedum Roof,Natural Materials,Rainwater Harvesting,Insulation and Glazing,Climate Adapted |
“Education for sustainable development enables people to develop the knowledge, values and skills to participate in decisions about the way we do things individually and collectively, both locally and globally, that will improve the quality of life now without damaging the planet for the future.”- The National Curriculum, 1999. Government Panel for Sustainable Development Education, 1999.
Completed in 2003, Beaumont Primary School was designed with sustainability in mind and includes many environmental and energy saving features. It was designed and built on the principle that school is the ideal place to provide a living example of science and the environment working together, creating opportunities for children to learn about the technologies used. The single storey, cedar clad building has accommodation for 140 pupils. The building includes five classrooms, activity areas, library, ICT room and sports hall. There is also a 26-place nursery unit.
Sustainability Features
Building Management System
All sustainable features are connected to a Building Management System (BMS), which is connected to a display screen within the school. This allows pupils to learn about their immediate environment.
Wind Turbine
A wind turbine, generating 6kW of electricity.
Solar Photovoltaic Panels
A number of photovoltaic cells mounted on a specially sloped roof, generating a further 1kW of electricity; enough to power the lights in two classrooms. Any surplus energy generated is used to heat water, reducing the use of gas boilers. When the school is not open, at weekends and during holidays, this electricity is sold back to the national grid.
Solar Hot Water Heating
Further solar panels are used to provide additional heating to the hot water tanks.
Sedum Roof
Part of the roof is covered in sedum, which aids summer cooling and winter insulation, requires little maintenance and prolongs the life of the roof. It also provides a rich habitat for birds, butterflies and other insects.
Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater is harvested from the parts of the roof not covered by sedum. This is then stored in underground tanks, filtered and used to flush toilets.
Insulation
The building is timber-framed with external wall insulation that is totally breathable. The insulation in the walls and roof consist of recycled newspaper; a product that is safe to handle and contains no CFCs.
Design Process
Apart from the obvious goal of a small carbon footprint, this building was designed to demonstrate the benefits of sustainable living to its pupils, with an aim of engendering an attitude of caring for the environment. This provides a context and motivation for learning, developing understanding, values and skills that can help pupils contribute in a positive way to the environment, as well as improving self-esteem.
Grants
The school’s wind turbine was part funded by a grant from the Clear Skies initiative.
Green Lifestyle
At Beaumont Primary School environmental issues are part of the daily life for the children. In such a school, children are given the opportunity to be actively involved in the development of the whole school environment and review issues such as how to reduce litter and waste, devise efficient ways of travelling to and from school and monitor energy and water bills.
Evaluation
The school building has been designed with sustainability in mind and includes many environmental and energy saving features. The design provides the children with a light, environmentally friendly building and in itself provides a setting suitable for the development of good environmental activities. The school is the ideal place to provide a living example of science and the environment working together, creating opportunities for children to see and learn about the technologies used. The ability to demonstrate the benefits of sustainable and energy efficient design together with the use of renewable energy in a school building fuels the imagination of future generations and engender an attitude of caring for the environment.
Suppliers and Professional Services Used
Architect- Rob King, Suffolk County Council
Landscape Architect- Tim Green, Suffolk County Council
Electrical Engineer- Andrew Rowe, Suffolk County Council
Mechanical Engineer- Robert Reeves, The Energy Practice
Quantity Surveyor- Neil Page, Suffolk County Council
Project Designer- David Garrard, Suffolk County Council
Main Contractor- Barnes Construction
Awards
Winner of UK CEED National Energy Efficiency Awards