In order to be able to meet these aspirations, it is necessary to develop a clear strategy for both embodied and operational carbon..

It’s an area Orthopaedic Surgeon, Raj Goel jokingly, but admiringly, refers to as ‘the foyer.’ ‘Patients say, “Wow, what a great place to work in,”’ he says..The other Circle staff members seem to agree, united in their appreciation for this particularly special aspect of the hospital.

Maswiken enthuses about the sense of cleanliness one is given, casting a view across the space.Kirsty Cobden, a member of the Business Development Team who often holds events in the atrium, says she thinks the area’s aspirational, calm atmosphere has a direct effect on patients.‘It doesn’t look like a hospital,’ she says, ‘so it puts them at ease as soon as they walk in… There’s a smell to hospitals.

Whereas when you walk in here, you’ve got the smell of the deli, of the food, of coffee.’.Martin Wood describes the concentration for the design of the hospital as being on efficiency of flow, in a way that ‘owes more to manufacturing processes, owes more to buildings that are directly about efficiency in outcome.’ However, he notes that at Circle this doesn’t compromise the user experience in the least.

‘Emphasis on value,’ he says, ‘does not necessarily mean that it precludes the use of interesting architectural form.’ Rather, the opposite.

The atrium aids with facilitating natural and easy way-finding, says Wood, adding that the building’s concentration on flow efficiency, as well as the sense of legibility the space provides, actually lends itself to a reduction in stress.The facade performance in a Passivhaus building goes well beyond current UK Building Regulations, though a combination of highly insulated walls, high-performing windows and by ensuring “thermal bridging” around windows, doors and junctions is reduced to as close to zero as possible.

This contrasts with traditional building construction, where these elements account for upwards of 10% of the building’s heat loss..The design must achieve the following targets to gain Passivhaus certification:.

A heating energy demand of < 15 kWh/m²/yr or a maximum required heating power of 10 W/m2.Avoid overheating or have a cooling system demanding < 15 kWh/m2/yr.