In 1994 a large U.K. credit card company decided to relocate and centralize its offices and operations from a number of city center sites to the outskirts on a green field site. The company decided that the concept for the new building should be "environmentally friendly," i.e., naturally ventilated and cooled by openable windows. However, during initial studies there was concern over whether natural cooling and ventilation alone would be adequate to maintain thermal comfort during hot weather. The design solution was to provide a mix of passive and mechanical systems that could be switched in response to internal conditions and the prevailing weather. The object was to use passive features, i.e., the building thermal mass and storage and cooling effects of a pond, to maintain thermal comfort whenever possible and only switch to mechanical cooling under extreme conditions. The building was occupied progressively during the spring of 1997. The case study covers the period from the initial design concept to the end of the first 18 months of occupation.

Units: SI