Submitted By:
Sedat Soylemez
ID No: 04009592
Submitted to:
Mr. David Brooks
Module: Introduction to
Construction, Assignment 3
17th December 2010
The need to move towards more sustainable
architectural design is recognised over the
years as such built environment has a major
impact on the security and quality of all of our
lives as well as a massive impact on the
national and local economy. Shorne Park is a
showcase project that is built to inspire and
pioneer sustainable architecture but it has
many impractical features and facilities that
cannot be easily adapted to any ordinary
construction.
SUSTAINABLE
ARCHITECTURE
&
SHORNE WOOD
COUNTRY PARK
Sustainable Architecture & Shorne Wood Page 2
1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This report would not have been possible without the ongoing guidance and support
provided by the Faculty of Design and Construction lecturer, Mr. David Brooks. I would
like to thank him for his priceless contributions. I would like to thank to, Lee-Evans
Partnership for providing the technical data of the project.
My special thanks go to Ms Sarah Belsey, customer service manager at Shorne Park.
She has been incredibly helpful and I could not complete the report at this level
without her help.
2. CONTENTS
Title Page
1. Acknowledgement
2. Contents
3. Abstract
4. Introduction
5. Towards a sustainable design
6. Sustainable design
7. Shorne Wood Country Park
7.1. Construction
7.2. Features
7.3. Management
8. Methodology
Sustainable Architecture & Shorne Wood Page 3
9. Results
10. Conclusion
11. Recommendations
12. References
3. ABSTRACT
This report aims at looking at sustainability from a different point of view; common
sense and enthusiasm. It provides brief information about the history of architecture
and its purpose as buildings have been a fundamental issue for people to maintain
their lives within a safe, comfortable environment. There have many different stages in
the history of the architecture as a result of the changes in availability of resources,
skills and affordability.
People are now more conscientious about the future of the planet and this has a raised
some concerns on the architectural designs and the materials used for buildings.
Shorne Park is built to demonstrate how to contribute to the sustainability in
construction industry. This report confirms that purpose of the project and the
practicality of its many features to adapt to ordinary construction are limited.
4. INTRODUCTION
We all think about finding more energy efficient ways to bring down the housing cost
or ideally, without a cost. This can be achieved either without using too much of the
resources or where possible, having resources recycled and reusable for something
else. Simple steps like when buying home appliances checking their energy efficiency
rating, using appropriate rubbish bags for recyclable items (paper, glass etc.),
Sustainable Architecture & Shorne Wood Page 4
switching off the office lights or even switching off the heating of the classrooms before
going home. But the amount of resources that actually go into a construction project to
provide an acceptable living standard and to meet the high demand for new buildings
as a result of increasing population can have massive impact upon the environment.
Architecture of sustainable buildings is becoming more and more important and in
demand. Architects and construction companies are expected and encouraged to
critically look at every steps of building methods or materials used in traditional
construction in order to achieve the most eco-friendly ways to get buildings made. It is
equally important that such buildings are cost effective to build and can set good
examples of practices that can be adaptable to buildings in general.
5. TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
Architecture is the process as well as the product of planning, designing and
constructing buildings. It requires a creative combination of the materials and
technology. It also looks at the pragmatic aspects of buildings i.e. maintenance and
their structures.
The earliest surviving written work about building architecture, De architectura, by
the Roman architect Vitruvius clearly stated the function and the purpose of a good
building as to satisfy the three principles (Rowland, I. D.–Howe, T.N, 1999):
Durability - it should stand up robustly and remain in good condition.
Utility - it should be useful and function well for the people using it.
Beauty - it should delight people and raise their spirits.
People historically maintained their basic needs i.e. shelter, security, worship etc. by
using the available materials and skills to provide buildings. Early settlements were
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mostly rural. People started an urbanised living with the improvement of skills and
technology over the years as it raised the production of materials available locally.
With the increase of the building knowledge and materials, architecture and
engineering began to separate. The architect interested on aesthetics and the humanist
aspects, often at the expense of technical aspects of building design. The industrial
revolution started the mass production and consumption. Aesthetics became more
common for the middle class as the products that were too expensive to have, become
cheaper and widely available.
As the buildings began to be more complex with construction systems, services, and
technologies, architecture become a multi-disciplinary science. Architecture began to
be more specialized as the 'design' architecture and the 'project' architecture.
Architects raised concerns for the environmental sustainability and soughed to meet
sustainable principles in their projects. Vernacular architecture inspired for
environmentally sustainable methods as the construction would use the locally
available resources to meet the needs. This is the main reason for the sweet chestnuts
being used for Shorne Park.
6. SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
Sustainable building design can be achieved by considering the social, economic and
environmental sustainability in the projects. The aim is to minimise the adverse impact
on environment. This requires setting up targets to challenge the global warming,
increase in population, environmental damage. Some common sustainable design
principles:
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Choosing sustainably produced or recycled materials which require little
energy to process
Choosing longer-lasting and better-functioning products will reduce the
impacts of producing replacements
Designing for reuse and recycling
Designing impact measures for carbon footprint.
Redesigning systems to enable the constant reuse of materials in continuous
closed cycles
Sustainable building design aims to create buildings that are not harmful to
their occupants or to the environment.
7. SHORNE WOOD COUNTRY PARK
Shorne Wood visitor centre is designed as a self sufficient, eco-friendly architecture to
inspire and increase sustainability awareness of visitors, professionals, potential home
buyers or developers so that they can make a positive difference in their environment.
Where possible all materials used are from sustainable sources and ‘local’. Using the
local building materials (sweet chestnut) is also a requirement / principal of building
within a conservation area that is to match the building with the environment.
A Conservation Area is defined in the Planning (Listed Building and Conservation
Areas) Act 1990 as: an area of special architectural or historic interest the character or
appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance.
The character of these areas is defined not only by a concentration of historic
buildings, but also by the relationship these buildings have with each other, historic
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patterns, the materials used in construction, parks and greens, and even street
furniture. Conservation Area designation is a way of protecting architectural or
historical characteristics and assures additional controls to help preserve the area.
7.1. Construction:
For the first time in the UK Sweet Chestnut glulaminate timber beams were used
throughout the construction of Shorn Wood visitor centre. There was insufficient
published data available for engineers to calculate dimensions and connection details.
This brought some arguments over the development of construction techniques.
Firstly sweet chestnut is normally used for cladding purposes and not naturally suited
to structural use. The architecture company overcome this by selecting small pieces of
timber and finger jointing them to form larger composite sections. Then the
manufacture of sweet chestnut glulaminated beams made several beams for BRE
testing. The result from these successful tests were then enabled the engineers to
make the necessary designs. Second argument was over the concept of the structure
which required the reflection of the local area’s historic shipbuilding tradition but to
allow the building volume to undulate reflecting the landscapes of Kentish downs
within the limited height of a Kentish cruck framed barn. The main constraint was
Inwood’s jig which could only produce beams 7m long. However, this restraint turned
into an advantage. Thirty two identically curved glulaminated sweet chestnut beams
were designed and pairs of beams connected together, in a similar way to the ‘hinge’
on a pair of scissors. It was then possible to open and close the cruck beams thereby
increasing and decreasing the ridge height of the building, and by extension,
decreasing and increasing the width of the building.
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Where possible recycled materials are used at the construction stage for example the
recycled glass under the paving slabs and recycled road planning’s to surface the car
park.
7.2. Feature:
The centre uses locally sourced sweet chestnut. Other eco features include a 15kW
wind turbine, solar thermal panels, photovoltaic (PV panels), harvested rainwater, bio-
mass heating, a sewage Klargester (waste water treatment system), PIR lighting, spray
taps, waterless urinals, recycling and composting facilities.
The wind turbine is made by Proven and can generate up to 15kW of power, around
80% of energy need. It is 13m tall to the height of the hub rather than the tip of the
blade, ideally Kent County Council (KCC) would have purchased one 10m taller which
would have generated significantly more power and at times would have made Shorne
Park self sufficient, however, this was not allowed due to the planning constraints as
the park is situated within the North Downs AONB. The turbine doesn't feed directly
into the centre, there is an import/export mechanism in place from the National Grid
so any power generated is sold back to the grid rather than coming into the centre
directly, this offsets the electricity bill as turbine is generating power for the national
grid and therefore make an income from it (around £1200 per year). The initial cost of
the turbine was £40,000 but was subsidised by a 50% grant from central government.
There have been issues with it mainly around several safety recalls from the
manufacturer which have resulted in it being switched off for almost 2 years. Shorne
Park is still awaiting the replacement of the hub and blades to resolve this problem and
then possibly may be up and running once again.
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The photo-voltaic cells generate electricity from the sun light and are integrated into
the roof structure and connected to the main LV supply. The 'array' of cells covers an
area of 40 square metres and produce up to 5000KW/hrs per year which amounts to
8.5% of energy required by the building and will save the release of 19,350kg of
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. These cost £24,000 and also had a
government grant of 50%.
It is initially anticipated that combined, the wind turbine and PV cells will take 8 years
to pay for their installation.
Solar thermal there are 3 solar thermal hot water panels which maintain a heated
water supply of 285 litres for the building. In the summer there is an electric emersion
backup system but in winter, Shorne Park relies on boiler for hot water.
The rain water harvesting system consists of a 10 cubic metre storage tank under the
ground. This water is then used to flush toilets and also feeds a grey water tap. This is
to save the amount of mains water used and recycle the rain water that would
otherwise just soak into the ground. If there are periods of low rainfall then there is an
automatic mains backup system which ensures the underground rainwater harvesting
tank stays full.
The biomass boiler is a considered as a success story. It is a boiler with a 60KW output
that is fed by a 6 cubic metre hopper. Shorne Wood is 100% self sustainable for
heating and hot water in the winter and use all wood chips from the park to fuel it
through the winter. It will use an area of trees that would fill 2 football pitches each
year to provide heating and hot water for the building. The timber is cut and stored in
the round for approximately 1 year until it has seasoned; it is then chipped and stored
but also turned regularly to maintain moisture content of no more than 30%. This cost
Sustainable Architecture & Shorne Wood Page 10
£31,000 but also got 50% funding and attracted funding of £14,000 for the woodchip
storage buildings.
The bio digester sewage digester treats the toilet and sink waste on site, the waste is
broken down and then the water goes back into the ground water system through a
30m deep soakaway. The idea of this is that it cuts down on embedded energy of
transporting the waste off site to a treatment centre, it needs emptying once or twice
each year, so this is an improvement and reduction in vehicle emissions.
PIR (passive infra-red) lighting used in the toilets so the lights only go on when the
toilets are being used to save electricity, this is fairly commonplace now.
The taps are spray taps so they put more air into the water flow and therefore less
water is used. Press down taps are fitted as they are on a short timer function so turn
off after only a few seconds, therefore saving water. Another water saving device is the
waterless urinals which use gel cartridges to treat the waste and eliminate any odours.
Recycling bins are provided both inside and outside the park and this encourages
visitors to recycle as much as possible. There are also some compost bins to deal with
the leftover food waste from the cafe.
7.3. Management
Two part time visitor services managers take responsibility for managing the visitor
centre and associated services including events and conferences. In addition there is a
full time catering manager, assistant catering supervisor and various other contracted
staff who work in the café. There is a team of reception staff who work on the front
desk, managing the gift shop and answering phone queries. There is a daily
cleaner/caretaker for three hours a day, seven days a week specifically for the
Sustainable Architecture & Shorne Wood Page 11
building. On the wider site there are a team of Countryside Wardens who work seven
days a week, with the main bulk of hours on weekends, paying daily visits to the site to
litter pick, remove dog waste, enforce site rules and generally patrol the site and
inform the Rangers of any damage or issues
An annual revenue budget is provided by Kent County Council to fund the day to day
operations of the park. Due to pressures in the wider organisation this is not enough to
fund site services so staffs are expected to raise income to plug the gap.
8. METHODOLOGY
Architecture has been a fundamentally important subject for people to maintain their
very basic needs like shelter, protection etc, therefore the report briefly touched on the
history of architecture and mentions how architecture has developed over the years
and why it has been such an important issue for a sustainable environment. Report
then focuses on the Shorne Wood Country Park project and points the sustainable
features they have in place which have cost the local and central government
something around millions of pounds.
9. RESULTS
Report results that architectural designs have historically combined the best available
resources and skills to provide safe and comfortable buildings. Sustainability is an
important issue.
Shorne Park has many features that are hardly adaptable and practical for residential
construction therefore it contradicts with its original design purpose. The amount of
money, time and other resources spent on the ‘sweet chestnut timber frame’ which
Sustainable Architecture & Shorne Wood Page 12
were actually imported from Canada to build the visitor’s centre is not found any more
inspiring than any regular timber frame construction would.
The wind turbine which has not worked for many years and possibly rusting in the air
is hardly practical for domestic or even commercial buildings therefore ten thousands
of public money was simply wind in the air.
The photovoltaic panels are a great invention but would only work by storing the sun
light during day time. How much energy they can store, maintenance of them, the cost
to buy one and the practicality of insulation as it may cause some structural damage to
the roof if not installed properly, are just some of the aspects to need looking into.
The biomass boiler, in other word the wood burner is a kind of stove operated means
of heating which require extra storage space for wood, some staff to operate it, and
dealing with ashes, taking it away etc. Having this sort of heating system is almost
impossible for town residential, but ten thousands of the public money was spent on.
The maintenance and the workforce of this building is also another issue. The building
and operation cost of this building just to demonstrate some wind turbine and wood
burner without any return contradicts with the principles of sustainable architecture.
10. CONCLUSION
Buildings have provided facilities where people maintained their lives throughout the
history. The architecture of buildings has developed at the same time with the spread
of the knowledge, materials and techniques. The rural settlement of humans become
more urbanised with the increase in availability of the materials. The increase in
population required more houses and it has put a great impact upon the environment.
People become more concerned over the methods and the building materials used in a
Sustainable Architecture & Shorne Wood Page 13
traditional building construction. Sustainable architectures are built to inspire people
to make positive effect in their environment. Shorne Wood is a showcase project that is
to set an example with its many eco-friendly features. The project cost millions of
pounds public money to be built and requires many staff to maintain the centre. There
are some services to raise money to run the centre but they are hardly making any
money therefore staff are expected to raise money.
11. RECOMMENDATIONS
There is a need to review the construction techniques, materials to ensure that new
buildings are robust as well as energy efficient. Common sense in architectural designs
may overcome the challenges without a massive cost. Shorne Park cost a massive
amount of money to be built and regardless of the energy efficiency it may provide on
paper, the park still considerable amount of public money to run. A revision of the
design purpose and the real outcome of this building required to rectify the problems.
Sustainable Architecture & Shorne Wood Page 14
12. REFERENCES
www.kent.gov.uk/kentcountryparks [Accessed on 1st December 2010]
Rowland, I. D.–Howe, T.N.: Ten Books on Architecture, Vitruvius. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge (1999)
Listed Building and Conservation Areas from www.legislation.gov.uk [Accessed
on 1st December 2010]
Patsalides, L. (2010), the history of green building, from brighthub.com
[Accessed on 1st December 2010]
Hart, L.S. (1994), Denver Service Centre, www.nps.gov/dsc/d_publications/d_1,
[Accessed on 2nd December 2010]
Morva, T. Types of building materials from www.ezinearticles.com/?Types-of-
Building-Materials [Accessed on 2nd December 2010]
www.cibseyoungmembers.co.uk/sixteenstoeighteens/building-services-
careers [Accessed on 2nd December 2010]