North Hertfordshire College, Hitchin Campus

This scheme was for the creation of a central Hub space through the redevelopment of an unused external courtyard. The concept created a multi-functional space that draws together three existing buildings to form a single campus.

The central Hub space benefits from tempered natural light through a double skin polycarbonate façade. This space is naturally ventilated through automatically opening windows that draw cool air through the North façade and expel it at high level.

The windows and space conditions are managed by an automated CO2 and temperature control, effectively cascading the openings to suit the temperatures at the stratification levels. This results in a smoother response curve to the temperature within the space ultimately making it more comfortable.

The Hitchin Centre achieved a score of 65.03% against the BREEAM Education 2008. This is a particularly high score for a refurbishment project.

The annual predicted CO2, based on the BRUKL, is 11.5kg/m2 based on 5500m2.

Image copyright: Hundven-Clements Photography