Gale & Snowden Architects Ltd RIBA Awards 2012 Page 1 of 3

1.1 Introduction

The project is a new state of the art extra care

facility for the elderly, with a dementia unit, in

Exeter, Devon, for Exeter City Council (ECC). The

research work involved designing for climate

change adaptation (CCA) and was funded by the

Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and ECC. The

research work was completed in December 2011.

The research work involved building professionals,

academic institutes and a public sector client led by

Gale & Snowden Architects.

Figure 1 St Loyes Extra Care Facility

This work builds on the report undertaken by Bill

Gething for the TSB entitled ‘Design for Future

Climate Change’.

1.2 Research Questions

What is the level of risk to occupants and the

building in future weather scenarios?

Can care homes be designed passively taking

into account climate change?

Is Passivhaus design a suitable strategy? –

super insulation and designing to 15 kWh/m2/yr

heat loss

What are the most cost effective and practical

CCA strategies for the building and when should

they be implemented?

What issues other than overheating might affect

comfort and health – pollution, pollen etc?

What role can plants, landscape and

permaculture play in changing climates?

Building CCA issues – water, flooding, UV

damage, wind, driving rain

These questions are original because:

This work has not been undertaken before in the

UK for a care facility for elderly vulnerable

people.

It involved an integrated unique CCA design

approach involving a range of experts in their

respective field. To date 14 scientific papers

have been produced that have influenced the

building design as well as a range of

architectural adaptation design details.

They have wider implications for other similar

building types and user groups.

1.3 Research Aims and Objectives

The research seeks to achieve the following new

knowledge and understanding:

An understanding of the following effects of climate

change on the building and its occupants:

internal and external temperatures

unstable and fluctuating temperatures

heat stress in individuals

increased weather severity – higher driving wind

and rain

increased air pollution

increased UV and fabric damage

increased incidents of flooding and droughts –

wetter winters / drier summers

Develop CCA strategies for care facilities and their

occupants to cost effectively respond to predicted

future weather scenarios which:

maintain internal and external thermal comfort

ensure a robust construction methodology

ensure a robust water management strategy

Figure 2 Exeter Temperatures 2080 50th

percentile

May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

36

34

32

30

28

26

24

22

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

Te

mp

era

ture

(°C

)

Date: Sat 01/May to Sat 30/Oct

Dry-bulb temperature: (WG_2080_2950095_a1fi_50_percentile_DSY.epw)

Gale & Snowden Architects Ltd RIBA Awards 2012 Page 2 of 3

0.0%

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

2.5%

3.0%

3.5%

4.0%

% h

rs >

25

deg

C

S1 5% open

S2 10% open

S3 5% vent cont

S4 10% vent cont

S5 5% shading

S6 10% shading

S7 5% both

S8 10% both

1.4 Research Context

Following analysis of the future weather data from

the Exeter University ‘Prometheus project’ and

climate change risk assessments, it was decided

that a key emphasis of this research work was to

address the issue of overheating for this vulnerable

user group.

The European heat wave of 2003 which claimed

over 40,000 lives, 17,000 of these in the UK,

highlighted the vulnerability of this group of people

to the effects of warming climates. Particularly in

Paris most deaths were associated with heat stress

caused by overheating in buildings and the majority

were elderly people.

Figure 3: CCA passive measures for St Loyes

Our research focused on designing the building

passively and to be adaptable to climate change

without the need to rely on energy intensive air

conditioning systems. A range of future CCA

strategies were researched.

Thermal comfort strategies fell into three main

camps:

Passive – that could be incorporated during

construction (cross ventilation, mass, night

cooling, landscape and plants) or programmed

in the future (shading, intelligent control).

People centred – to help equip carers and

residents with a better understanding of heat

stress and how to mitigate it.

Active strategies – these could employ low

energy systems to actively compliment the

above

Figure 4: % of hrs internal temperatures > 250C in

2050.

Figure 5: CCA active measures for St Loyes

Figure 6: Construction & Water Strategies

Gale & Snowden Architects Ltd RIBA Awards 2012 Page 3 of 3

1.5 Research Methods and Processes Adopted:

Detailed climate change risk assessments at

early concept stages.

Dedicated CCA design workshops throughout

RIBA stages. An innovative approach to the

design process as it enabled the team to focus

entirely on the CCA design

Research into actual case study buildings in

warmer climates followed by design team study

tours. A balanced view was obtained on the

practical lessons learnt abroad in addition to

theoretical calculations.

Research Passivhaus standard as a strategy to

limit overheating

Figure 7: CFD Modelling of Courtyard & Plants

Thermally modelling a range of CCA (passive

and active) strategies against high emission

scenarios in 2030, 2050, 2080. A greater

understanding was obtained on the

effectiveness of different passive strategies in

context with each other.

Detailed Investigations into suitable overheating

criteria for vulnerable user groups as this is

lacking in UK guidelines.

Figure 8: Thermal Modelling

Research into the role that plants, landscape

and Permaculture can play.

Assessing available weather data for increased

weather severity – rain, wind, UV and flooding

Lifecycle costing analysis for a range of CCA

strategies

Figure 9: CCA vs Standard Care Home - Cumulative

Discounted Cash Flows

Figure 10: Permaculture & Landscape Design

1.6 Dissemination

An extensive dissemination programme included:

CIBSE Guide Supplement to TM36 Climate

Change and the Indoor Environment: Impacts

and Adaptation 2005

Inclusion in academic papers and CPD events

via Exeter University

Presentations at industry conferences e.g.: TSB

conferences

Presentations to public, client bodies and

construction industry and local authorities

Internet presence via web site and blog

The feedback from local councils, care home

providers and other industry professionals has

been very positive. This research has already led

to Devon County Council commissioning G&S to

rewrite their care home design brief. It will

eventually lead to a review of how care homes are

designed. The project was completed in December

2011 and has recently been reviewed by the TSB.

To date it has received no awards and hopefully

this will be the first amongst many to come. The

research work was featured at a TSB event at

Ecobuild London in March 2012.