Internationally renowned for its creative and innovative approach to
teaching and research, Goldsmiths, University of London has nearly
9,000 students taking part in undergraduate, postgraduate, teacher
training and return-to-study opportunities in subjects covering the
arts, social sciences, humanities and computing.
A £16 million cutting-edge academic building has been sensitively
designed by architects Stride Treglown to be eye-catching,
attractive and blend in with the surrounding College Green
aesthetic, including the auspicious Richard Hoggart Building
opposite. This new 6,500 square metre, four-storey building now
houses the University’s Institute of Creative and Cultural
Entrepreneurship and Department of Media and Communications, and has
allowed different sections of the two departments that were
scattered across the campus, to centralise into a single
purpose-built space.
To minimise the overall height of the new building, and its impact
on the original college buildings surrounding it, a basement was
excavated to help incorporate double-height ceilings for lecture
theatres and studios. A glass frontage helped to reflect the
surrounding trees and two fully operational Monodraught Windcatcher
natural ventilation systems and two matching, non-operational
Windcatcher terminals were installed to ‘mirror’ the chimneys on the
original Richard Hoggart building facing it. The glazed concourse
that connects the building’s four floors and accommodates a cafe at
the base is naturally ventilated through a cross flow ventilation
strategy was designed to allow fresh air to be drawn in at low level
and extracted through the two active Windcatcher systems.
To ensure that the ventilation requirements of the new building are
also future-proofed, the two non-operational Windcatchers terminals
can simply be activated by Monodraught if increased natural
ventilation is required to serve the cafe and Lecture Theatre foyer
areas.
Commenting for architects Stride Treglown, John Kirkby says: “The
Windcatchers needed to be of a size that was in proportion to the
building, whilst ensuring they operated efficiently.
This meant that they are taller than cross flow ventilation
principals actually require but, as the concourse is lower than the
building it fronts, the top of the terminals needed to be tall
enough to ensure they would capture the wind from any direction.”
He goes on to say that the imaginative tapering design of the
Windcatchers and their size has created an expressive form that is a
key feature of the building and an exciting addition to the new
campus. The Windcatchers also actively promote the building to
visitors and students as being naturally ventilated and, he adds:
“We are very pleased with the result.”
From the outset, the University’s aspiration was to achieve a BREEAM
‘Very Good’ rating, of which natural ventilation forms an integral
part of the credit. During the construction process, the University
decided to increase the BREEAM target to achieve a BREEAM
‘Excellent’ rating with the result that the sustainability features
of the building were further enhanced.
“As a practice, we take sustainability very seriously.” says John.
“It was always a primary driver that as much of the building as
possible would be naturally ventilated. We spoke to Monodraught
because they have a reputation for designing quality natural
ventilation systems that not only look good but work properly. Their
senior designers reviewed our sketches and, at no cost to us or the
contractor, designed and developed a system that would work for the
building.”
The new academic building at Goldsmiths University of London is
already acknowledged by students and lecturers as an inspirational
space where they can meet and exchange ideas using the informal
areas created within the building and concourse.
Windcatcher is a registered trademark owned by Monodraught Limited.
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