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Lyde Green School - Sustainable Design

With a zero carbon goal for all new public buildings, South Gloucestershire Council wanted to build a new, energy efficient, sustainable, free all-through school for 1,000 primary and secondary students. They engaged us to help.

In collaboration with Willmott Dixon, Alec French Architects, and certified Passivhaus designer Piers Sadler Consulting, we designed the new, three-story Lyde Green School. We specified a cross-laminated timber (CLT) frame to meet Passivhaus standards for energy efficiency and a low carbon footprint. This smooth, relatively low thermally conductive material works as a fixing point for an airtight vapour barrier and provides a smooth flat surface for affixing the insulation, which prevents thermal bridging. Airtightness and thermal efficiency are key to the net zero design.

Steel transfer elements and long glulam beams span the sports hall. Internal partitions are constructed with timber studs or a lightweight steel framing system (steel studs). Fixing timber I-beams to the CLT prevents thermal bridging across the cavity. We also helped the project design team adopt shorter floor spans and aligned CLT structural walls, which led to an economical solution that maintains Passivhaus standards.

Optimizing passive solar benefits was also key to our design. Some challenges included meeting conflicting window size requirements and achieving suitable ventilation routes. We reconciled the window sizes to meet Department for Education daylight requirements and the Passivhaus requirements for small windows on north elevations, where there¡¯s less beneficial heat gain. We also helped the project design team adopt shorter floor spans and aligned CLT structural walls, which led to an economical solution that maintains Passivhaus standards.

With this low energy, ecologically friendly, and affordable brick-clad building, the Council can provide a comfortable, sustainable experience for students and teachers alike¡ªthis Passivhaus school is doing its part to make the future brighter for upcoming generations.?