BREEAM Excellent Laboratory

We are delighted to announce that the Building Research Establishment have just certified that the

recently completed laboratory building for the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Oxfordshire, has achieved a BREEAM Environmental Assessment rating of ‘Excellent’.

Typical Research Laboratory Interior

The accommodation provides high grade laboratory space for chemistry and molecular biology,.and includes office spaces and meeting rooms which enjoy views over meadowland to the River Thames.  

Funding provided by the Natural Environment Research Council was partly dependent on achieving the highest available BREEAM rating.  R H Partnership rose to the challenge, utilising a list of potential environmental impacts to inform every aspect of the design process from feasibility stage onwards. 
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Efforts were focused on providing an energy efficient building form, fabric and services.  Measures such as variable flow mechanical ventilation in laboratory buildings are a far more cost effective solution to reducing carbon emissions than on-site renewable energy.  

The building is arranged to maximise natural daylighting, with the primary facades oriented north and south - minimising problems with glare and solar heat gains.  

The facades are primarily clad in western red cedar, and the building envelope incorporates very high levels of insulation and air tightness.