It is the first school to become UK certified to meet the Passivhaus plus standard.

The primary school has achieved this by using many different complex mechanical and electrical systems which work in conjunction with each other.

It also uses renewable energies to help max out the efficiency of the building.

This leads to the building generating more energy than the building consumes throughout the year.

This distributes fresh air throughout the occupied rooms, and then transfers stale air into the main hall and WC rooms for extraction.

Occupied rooms operate on a mixed mode basis, this encourages natural ventilation when outside temperatures are moderate.

The ground source heat pump system provides heating and most of the hot water. To handle higher temperatures in the summer and ensure climate resilience, the system includes a heat exchanger that allows for free cooling by pulling cool air from the ground.

Since the ground source heat pump can use the cool air during the summer this allows it to operate more efficiently during winter.

The performance of the building is so efficient that it actually only uses 75% of the 100% of renewable energy that is generates on the site. This helps save up up 94,000kg of CO2 emissions per year.

It uses a panelized structure with strong glued laminated timber known as glulam columns and beams. Timber boards are used for the walls and they are insulated with Warmcel. This is made from recycled newspaper. All timber are pieces are cut using computer-controlled machines (CCM) to ensure a perfect fit. The concrete ground floor slab contains 70% recycled ground granulated Blastfurnace Slag to reduce carbon impact. The roof of the building is constructed to host a number of PV panels comfortably.

The use of these sustainable and high performance fabric means there is no thermal bridging.

This has helped the school even further in its sustainability goals and becoming a zero carbon building.

Internal floor area 1865m2

Treated floor area 1510m2

Project cost approx. 9 million

Construction: Timber frame

Construction started: June 2017

Completed: 2020

Certification: Passivhaus Plus, 2022

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Case study: Passivhaus Plus Hackbridge Primary School - CIBSE Journal

The building also looks to use natural light and other systems to ensure energy efficiency and comfort.

The building uses reconstituted stone and concrete. It also uses cross laminated timber and glulam. Use of these materials helps to reduce the embodied carbon of the building.

However to manage the humidity levels the library is fitted with a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery and also a dehumidifier.

Pendant lights for there ability to direct light, and uniform light fixtures were used in order to use the least light fixtures.

External lighting is kept to a minimum to improve energy performance.

To reduce noise from footsteps on the timber floor, it is installed on natural rubber isolators, which effectively dampen impact noise and provide a sturdy walking surface. Noise modeling ensured that the rooms maintain appropriate sound levels for quiet study, even with the nearby main road to the north.

From modern to timeless: Níall McLaughlin’s Magdalene College Library (architectsjournal.co.uk)

On the same page: New Library at Magdalene College - CIBSE Journal

Magdalene College Library - Timber iQ online