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A sustainable building
Jubilee Library has been designed and built with energy efficiency as an important consideration.
Fulcrum Consulting have designed the building's heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting in accordance with environmentally sustainable principles. They have maximised the 'passive' input into the services, taking best advantage of natural light, solar warmth and sea breezes. This has minimised use of powered services such as electric and gas heating and artificial air conditioning, which also reduces maintenance.
The library is a building with a high thermal mass: a heavy concrete structure, with high levels of insulation on roof and walls. Such a building is capable of storing either heat or coolness to suit weather conditions.
This is done by extensive use of Swedish 'Termodeck' concrete ceiling slabs on the galleries surrounding the main hall. These contain hollow tubes through which air can be pumped. In summer, low temperature night air is used to chill the concrete, thus cooling the building by day.
In winter, heat from sunlight through the massive south-facing glazed front wall (and generated by the people, computers and machines), which would otherwise be wasted, is stored in the concrete and used to heat incoming air.
In warm weather, ventilation is enhanced by three 15ft high wind towers on the roof. Using the same principle as oast houses, passing sea breezes create the so-called 'venturi effect', sucking out warm air through the building's roof.
Slatted louvres behind the glass south wall provide shade from high-angle sun in summer, while allowing warmth from low-angle rays through in winter.
Mechanical cooling and heating is minimal. Artificial light adjusts itself to ambient light conditions to save energy, automatically switching off where the library enjoys bright daylight.
To minimise echo effects caused by hard cincrete surfaces, internal walls are clad in perforated timber over a sound-baffling material. Further sound baffling is provided by acoustically dampened 'wings' on internal light fittings.Rainwater collected from the roof is stored in a 10,000-litre underground tank and used to flush lavatories.
In building Jubilee Library, a low-energy, major public building has been created to operate efficiently for its purpose, within commercial constraints and strict performance criteria of a PFI regime.
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