Hassocks Pavilion
Project Type:
Pavilion
Location:
Sussex
Project Description
Hassocks Community Pavilion was a community project to procure a forward-thinking and low-energy efficient building. The goal was to make an innovative, energy-efficient building that made a statement in the park and stood out among the other buildings.
The sustainable pavilion is a 220-square-meter community building that will be mainly used for sports such as cricket and football. Inspired by sport, the roof has been designed with reference to a cricket ball bounce, but has been cleverly designed for solar panel use, with the inverted tick being able to catch the sunlight.
The winning modern pavilion architecture centred on creating an unbroken thermal envelope that encapsulates the structural elements, allowing the building to have a very low air permeability. The entire building is wrapped in insulation that runs underneath the foundations and the roof which is covered in a single-ply membrane allows for excellent levels of insulation to be installed on top of the roof along with a good waterproofing layer.
The aim of this is to seal the building completely to then use a ventilation system to allow for the slightly stale and moist air from the inside to be let out so that clean fresh air can come in. This method also retains the heat through a heat exchanger and recovers that warmth. This ensured that the building was thermally efficient and with the insulation layer on the outside of the structure, the internal finish was far more hard-wearing, making it perfect for this type of public building.
The air source heat pump has been designed to supply hot water for space heating and for showering. A heat pump uses one-third of the energy of the traditional electric system so will potentially save a lot of money, and the underfloor heating is particularly appropriate for the purpose of the building. The ideal temperature for this building is around 17 degrees but when people start using it the temperature can be brought up very quickly.
In order to allow the building to be comfortable all year round, the building was designed with solar gain in mind with large folding doors towards the south. The folding doors work in conjunction with the cantilevered solar shading that covers the timber deck. The building despite its simple design is highly detailed to provide efficiency in nearly every manner.
Other features of the design include the flooring in the changing areas that are made from robust recycled material, the outer cladding which has been made with locally sourced sweet chestnut, and the windows and doors that are triple glazed. Everything about the design and construction of this sustainable architecture has been done with cost and energy efficiency in mind, and all of the materials used for the internal finishes were identified to be sustainable and nontoxic.