Visionary plans for new sports

infrastructure and office space

The British School of Brussels

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paridaens

ingenieurs

RCR bvba

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Project 3-2-1 in a nutshell

The new building construction project at The British School

of Brussels (BSB) in Tervuren is called Project 3-2-1. The

3 in the name refers to three facilities (swimming pool,

gymnasium and the newly designed reception area and

offices), the 2 refers to the approximate two-year build and

the street number in the new address will be number 1.

The name is also, of course, a countdown.

The new building will accommodate offices and a reception

area together with a swimming pool, a sports hall, a gym, a

fitness area, a dance studio and a café. The plan also

includes covered parking for 120 vehicles and 258

bicycles.

Flexibility and mobility have been key considerations

during the design of the new facilities. All areas of the new

building will be connected and can be used for multiple

purposes. Access will be improved with the addition of lifts

that will connect all floors, ramps and wide corridors.

Pedestrian and cyclist safety were important issues in the

planning of the building entrance, car and bicycle park.

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The construction works started in October 2014

and should be completed spring 2016

s

The swimming pool floor insulation prevents heat

loss from the warm swimming pool water.

A mission for certified sustainable construction

The design and construction process is being certified under the

BREEAM International scheme. BREEAM is the Building

Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method:

an internationally recognised certification system for sustainable

buildings. The aim is to achieve an “Excellent” rating with a

score of 76%. On completion, the building will then receive a

four star certificate.

Some key sustainability features of the project

Water

The swimming pool will contain 894,997 litres of water.

The swimming pool water consumption rate will only be

30 litres per swimmer. About the same volume will be

used for showering, toilets, cleaning and maintenance.

Rainwater is harvested from the building roofs and filtered

for use in toilet areas and maintenance applications.

Energy

The building will be well insulated and very energy

efficient. Several low carbon technologies will be

implemented (e.g. LED lighting, geothermal heat pumps,

solar panels), as well as an energy monitoring system,

which will be integrated in the building management

system. All technical installations will be commissioned to

optimise building user comfort and energy consumption.

Stakeholder consultation process

All stakeholders were informed and involved in the

building design. Students and teachers were asked for

their ideas and vision on the project in several workshops.

Daylight

The façades of the swimming pool, gym and sports hall

are constructed with translucent panels to allow for

daylight transmission. The artificial lighting of offices and

meeting rooms is equipped with daylight sensors and

automatic dimmers to reduce lighting power consumption.

Reduced construction site impact

The construction works’ impact on the environment and

neighbourhood is continuously monitored and evaluated:

energy and water consumption monitoring, on-site

seggregation and recycling of construction waste etc.)

Sustainable materials

All timber in the project is sustainably harvested, which is

evidenced by the FSC or PEFC labels for sustainable

forestry. Indoor air quality is improved by applying low

formaldehyde and low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC)

materials and indoor finishings.

Acoustic comfort

Studies were performed to evaluate the acoustic comfort

in all occupied spaces of the building. Measures were

taken to improve acoustical insulation and reduce

reverberation times, in order to achieve optimum

atmospheric conditions.

Ecology

Ecological features (like trees and ground water) on and

around the construction site are protected as far as

possible. Some trees needed to be cut down to make

space for the new building. However, the current sports

hall will be deconstructed on completion of the new

infrastructure, to compensate for the increased building

footprint on the site.

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Innovative swimming pool techniques

The swimming pool will be equipped with innovative techniques to reduce its environmental

impact and energy consumption. Water treatment filters and air ducts are constructed in

concrete to allow for lower water and air velocities, which reduces energy consumption of

pumps and fans. High efficiency pumps and fans are installed with variable speed drives to

match their output to the needs.

Active heat recovery devices will be built in the ventilation system to recover heat from the

waste air to the fresh air and to the fresh pool water supply. An efficient heat pump is used

for de-humidification of the swimming pool air.

Visionary plans include a mobile swimming pool floor, and the water will be covered at

night to drastically reduce heat and evaporation loss.

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Project information

Location The British School of Brussels

Pater Dupierreuxlaan 1 3080 Tervuren Belgium

Team Architect: Licence to Build Engineers: RCR, Artabel, Paridaens BREEAM assessor and project manager: Grontmij Main contractor: THV Sportcentrum Tervuren (Vanhout – Van Roey)

Budget Building: k€ 10,821 (1,398 €/m²) Building services: k€ 4,280 (553 €/m²) External works: k€ 495 (74 €/m²)

Total site area 8.3 ha

Gross building floor area 7,741 m²

Function areas Swimming pool: 626 m² Gym: 626 m² Sports hall: 1,528 m² Dance studio: 148 m² Fitness: 139 m² Offices: 519 m² Reception area: 233 m² Informal meeting area: 381 m² Multimedia room: 83 m² Toilets, showers, changing facilities and lockers: 794 m² Circulation: 1,198 m² Storage: 471 m² Plant rooms: 996 m²

Predicted electricity consumption 329 MWh/year or 42 kWh/m²/year

Predicted natural gas consumption

503 MWh/year or 65 kWh/m²/year

Predicted water use Swimming pool: 60 l/swimmer Building services: 2,750 m³/year, of which 22% rain water