Pilot Project for speculative industrial units for East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA)
Architects and environmental engineers: LEDA Ltd., Leeds.
Structural Engineers: Symonds Structures
Project Managers: Turner and Townsend
Contractor: Galliford Try ( Midlands)
Completed: August 2004
HEADLINES: First industrial units to have been built on the eco-pioneering Sherwood Energy Village site. Building environmental performance to be monitored for 30 months.
The units have been designed to illustrate how an industrial unit may provide a high standard of accommodation suitable for the industrial activities of today and the future.
Six units have been accommodated on the site, ranging in size from 2000 to 5000 ft2 each with office, kitchen and w.c. facilities. The scheme achieves a very high standard of environmental performance that has hitherto not been associated with this building type.

Environmental Design Features:
Flexible environmental performance to provide for a variety of uses
Minimal running costs
Very high levels of insulation throughout
Airtight Construction
Maximum use of glare free effective daylight
Effective natural ventilation for all year round comfort
Simple highly efficient heating system
Inspiring and comfortable internal environment to maximise productivity
High quality low maintenance landscape to enhance local ecology based on native species and local sourcing
High quality external appearance for customer confidence incorporates latest block paving for sustainable drainage
Embracing and Enhancement of Sherwood Energy Village site design principles
Use of local and recycled materials including UK sourced Douglas fir boarding, recycled aggregates, soil amelioration on site to create topsoil, UK sourced recycled cellulose insulation

Running through all the units is a curved ridge rooflight, which is the chief source of daylight. This has been sized to ensure that artificial lighting would only be needed on dull days, and the special specular plastic material specified for these rooflights disperses the daylight across the areas gently and evenly. Motorised openings in the rooflights provide natural ventilation when required. Artificial lighting is provided by high-efficiency fluorescent fittings with automatic controls to switch lights off when there is sufficient daylight or if areas are left unoccupied. Narrow windows in the side walls provide additional daylight and views out without compromising flexible working space.

All the units are heated via a domestic sized condensing boiler feeding a pair of pipes running around the perimeter at low level.

Links: http://www.sev.org.uk