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OCTOBER 08 - TAKING THE LIBRARY ATMOSPHERE INTO THE 21ST CENTURY



London Borough of Havering has invested £1m in the refurbishment and upgrading of Hornchurch Library, to bring the 1960s building and its facilities into the 21st century....

The scheme has not only included structural changes of a new glazed façade and mezzanine providing dedicated space for children, ‘quiet’ space for research but also modernisation such as self-service issue and return of books, a new Public Advice & Service Centre and a strategy to ‘Make a Noise in Libraries’ to encourage the public to make the most of facilities without the traditional aura of silence.

To ensure the building ambience reflected the contemporary approach, Havering and its architect Mouchel chose Passivent natural ventilation, which simultaneously provides a sustainable solution with effective ventilation that operates silently so does not impinge on people’s enjoyment of the facilities.

Thus, four Passivent Aircool window ventilators have been integrated into the façade, to provide a constant, draught-free flow of fresh air into the building. The warm, used air inside rises, and is extracted via Passivent Airstract terminals on the roof. The principle harnesses natural air movement principles of convection (warm air rising) and the venturi effect (wind passing over the terminals causing suction) to work effectively day and night. The system can ventilate twice the depth inside the building compared with single sided ventilation strategies, and provides effective night cooling as internal and external temperatures have a higher variance at night, increasing convection. Because the system harnesses natural air movement, it uses minimal energy to function, and operates silently.

Havering Libraries marketing Manager Sonia Harding commented, “This has been a very important project for Havering Council and has been greeted with very high levels of public approval. The new library makes a huge contribution to quality of life in Hornchurch. As a council we have a policy to utilize sustainable solutions and Mouchel Parkman, as designers, looked to use sustainable solutions regardless of our policy, hence the optimization of natural light with the glazed façade, and natural ventilation from Passivent, whom we chose being a large, well known organisation.”

Passivent natural ventilation systems reduce energy consumption over air conditioned buildings by up to 50%, yield 15% savings on capital costs and 75% savings on maintenance costs, and eliminate the need for a separate plant room. Additionally, Passivent natural ventilation gives a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, and avoids the use of ozone depleting substances. Research also shows that occupants prefer naturally ventilated buildings, with fewer incidents of sick building syndrome, and improved performance.

Passivent is part of the Building Product Design Group and is the UK’s leading designer and supplier of natural ventilation systems for both domestic and commercial applications.

The company is a founder member of the NatVent EC-EU-funded project co-ordinated by the Building Research establishment to develop practical natural ventilation solutions for the commercial sector, and has also contributed to the BISRIA Guide BG2/2005 Wind Driven Natural Ventilation Systems, as well as being a member of the DfES steering committee on natural ventilation guidance for schools, Building Bulletin 101.

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