Offsite Construction Chosen for UK’s First Energy Positive Office
Wernick Buildings has been appointed to support SPECIFIC and Swansea University in building the UK’s first Active Office – which generates more energy than it uses.
The Building will be constructed at Wernick Buildings’ specialist factory in Port Talbot and will incorporate innovative energy harvest, storage and release technologies.
The completed building will use innovative energy systems to generate, store and release its own heat and electricity through solar panels and specially constructed wall, floor and ceiling components. The building will also be able to share energy with SPECIFIC’s Active Classroom teaching space, to demonstrate how buildings could be used as power stations to support energy resilient communities.
Modular Construction is a natural fit for an energy efficient project; controlled off-site manufacture creates almost zero waste, and a faster build schedule cuts down noise pollution and carbon emissions by reducing site traffic. 22% of the energy used in the Wernick Factory is derived from solar, further reducing the carbon footprint of the project.
Stuart Wilkie, Managing Director of Wernick Buildings commented, “Wernick Buildings have always put sustainability of the heart of their production process, so this project with SPECIFIC feels like a perfect fit for us. It’s a great opportunity to not only show what offsite construction can achieve, but to show how easily innovative energy saving technology can be brought to the commercial market.”
The building was procured through the Fusion 21 Framework.
Construction on-site began on the 8th of January, and the completed office is expected to be ready for occupation by June 2018.