True Zero Carbon Educational Centre

This project on a historic estate in Lincolnshire will provide an innovative learning space for visitors to engage with environmental sustainability and heritage in what is designed to be the most energy efficient and lowest whole life carbon educational centre in the UK. Ecospheric and Steven Dunn Architects have designed the educational centre to achieve the Passivhaus Institut's highest certifiable standard - Passivhaus (PH) Premium. At this performance standard, the site in question will not only account for its own operational carbon, but also cover all the carbon embodied in the building fabric and that carbon expended during the construction phase, making this a true zero whole life carbon endeavour. The PH Premium standard has only been certified on a handful of individual properties in the world to date and never before in the UK.  

The design process has involved extensive carbon analysis of every aspect of the building in order to push the bounds of sustainability in the built environment. The design team has undertaken a passive design and optioneering analysis of the building form, along with build systems and materials, foundations, heating systems, glazing, building services, and renewable energy generation. The aim is to reduce the embodied and operational carbon associated with this new build to a greater degree than any project has taken decarbonisation before.

The final product, set in a wider historic landscape, will be a functional, healthy, low maintenance education centre, capable of producing enough energy onsite to power all site needs, appliances, lighting, space heating/cooling, hot water and ventilation resulting in more than 90% reduction in operational carbon footprint compared with the average UK educational facility. Using only renewable energy generation integrated into the building itself, this project will also produce enough energy to power ancillary buildings on the estate.