University of Wales - Bangor Environment Centre

We created an environment where excellence can flourish.

Bangor University’s new Environment Centre won Wales’s first ever ‘Excellent’ rating under BREEAM®.

Our cost management services were crucial in creating a building that demonstrated aspects of environmental and sustainable construction. One that would act as a focal point for environmental research and training in Wales.

How do you budget when no historical cost data exists?

Some of the building’s features, such as ground source heat pumps and grey water harvesting, were so new, there was simply no cost data to which we could refer. To meet this challenge we:

  • Carried out procurement workshops
  • Performed a large element of market testing
  • Created software to enable the close reviews need to achieve a BREEAM® excellent rating

 

1st

ever ‘Excellent’ rating under BREEAM awarded in Wales.

A hard site to work with

A further challenge was the site itself – tight with a rock face to the rear. To help overcome the difficulties, we:

  • Installed the ground source heat pumps vertically under the building
  • Augured them 100m deep, to ensure the water was hot enough
  • Installed extra pumps in case of failure, because maintenance would be impossible

Communication was key

Especially when we discovered that the rock face to the rear of the site required far more stabilisation than had been previously thought. So we:

  • Put change control procedures in place, to manage and forecast changes at an early stage and allow our client to make better decisions.  
  • Shared all key information with the client
  • Reviewed all potential sustainable solutions, from capital costs to life cycle costs, to make sure we used the right systems.

Working closely with all teams ensured safe and cost-efficient measures were delivered and the project was completed on time and within the revised budget. In addition to the ‘Excellent’ BREEAM®rating, the building also received an international commendation in the RICS’ Sustainability Awards.

Sektory:

Vzdelávanie

Kancelária:

Liverpool

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