Bright prospects for Bradford in prestigious BREEAM awards
The University of Bradford's Bright Building has made the final of the prestigious BREEAM awards 2016, a celebration of the greatest scoring developments across the World.
The Awards recognise the achievement of those involved in the specification, design and construction of BREEAM assessed buildings. BREEAM then nominates the top 5 scoring buildings within each category of BREEAM and invites the top scorers to submit a case study to its panel of independent, industry judges who make the final decision.
The building, which is home to the Re:Centre, features in the ‘Mixed Use and Other’ category and is the latest building on the City Campus to achieve a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating, firmly placing it within the top 1% of UK buildings in terms of sustainability and reducing environmental impact.
The Bright Building is at the cutting edge of sustainable construction, the vast majority of the building products being either natural or recycled. It is the world’s largest building built of monolithic hempcrete, a mixture of hemp shives and natural lime. Like other plant products, the hemp crop absorbs carbon dioxide gas as it grows, retaining the carbon and releasing the oxygen.
Andy Hague, University of Bradford’s Project Manager for the Bright Building, said: “The impressive BREEAM score for this iconic building shows just how much can be accomplished. The project is a fantastic testament to the Estates Team’s determination to achieve a high rating and to the project’s innovative and highly committed delivery team.”
The £6.5 million part EU-funded building, designed by Leeds-based architects Farrell and Clark, achieved a Post Construction BREEAM credit score of 95.2% the highest BREEAM score for a University Building in the UK, surpassing the adjacent BREEAM Award-winning ‘The Green’ Student Accommodation, which achieved 94.95% in 2012.
The University’s Engineering and Building Estates Manager, Russell Smith, said: “The project has taken over seven years from inception to completion and everyone involved can be extremely pleased to have given the University another landmark world-class building. It is a true testament to a dedicated team effort”
This project has been funded by ERDF, HEFCE and the University. The project has attracted £2.32 million capital grant investment from the European Regional Development Fund, as part of Europe's support for the region's economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme.
The BREEAM Awards 2016 will take place on Tuesday 8 March 2016 at the London Marriott, Grosvenor Square. Projects must have been certificated between December 1 2014 - November 28 2015 to be considered for the 2016 awards.
More information on the awards can be found here http://www.breeam.com/shortlist