(Em)Powering the Future
Located by Lake Windermere, this learning centre is aimed to help empower the local community of Cumbria through the Sloyd education system (learning through craft) to tackle the ongoing unemployment-related issues, utilising resources already available—human resources (skilled people of Cumbria in the nuclear and boatbuilding manufacturing industry) and materials (wood sourced from Grizedale). Small Modular Nuclear Reactor (SMR) in the scheme produces clean energy used in the building and the surplus is given to the grid, contributing to the UK’s goal of net carbon zero by 2050.
The form of the scheme is informed by the security and access level required by each programme, hence the distinct separation of the boatbuilding and SMR wings. Plant room is in the middle to allow separate systems. The shape of the roof follows space hierarchy and public accessibility, with the foyer upon entrance being the tallest and toilets being the lowest to allow natural water flow for flushing WCs.
The language of boatbuilding is expressed throughout the building: exposed and manual, as seen in the exposed roof structure, choice of materiality (OSB flooring for robustness and cheap to replace), adjustable working desks around the columns whose mechanisms are left exposed, and priority of passive environmental strategies.
Operational costs are kept to a minimum by providing energy efficiently. Underfloor heating is the best option due to the large workshop area and the suspended service zone is a response to the tall ceiling. Building Fabric First principle is applied with the double skin facade on the lakeside elevation (west) with fritted vertical fins with angle optimised using Grasshopper to provide solar shading for afternoon sun and U-value of all building envelopes satisfy Passivhaus standards.
This scheme is hoped to be the first step to a future of an empowered generation, powered by sustainable nuclear energy.
