Environmental
Considerations
The preliminary design proposal for the Adult Learning Centre took into consideration a series of environmental factors. Through effective organisation and simple design alterations the building will will rely as little as possible on artificial methods of lighting, heating and cooling.
Sun
The building has been orientated to maximise the lighting of spaces from natural sources. As natural lighting is most effective within the first 6m of a window, each room has been organised to be no more than 10m away from one. Furthermore, a courtyard space means light can penetrate further within the interior. These considerations help to limit the reliance users have on artificial lighting.
Wind
The primary public space is orientated to the west. The future development of this project will aim to harness natural wind power, creating passive methods of ventilation and heating. approaches such as the stack effect method or a twin-face façade system are likely to be used
Rain
The various pitches of the roof can be developed to feed into a drainage system that would recycle the collected water, and reuse it within the adult learning centre.