Under the banner of Believe in Better Buildings (BiBB), Sky’s new educational facility for graduates, apprentices and staff training, reflects the company’s sustainable aspirations. Based at the Campus at Osterley, West London – the 3,800sq metre development encompasses a three-storey linear building with an additional storey housing a restaurant and a roof terrace, all providing an inviting multi-functional amenity.
B & K Structures provided an optimised hybrid structure for the build – comprising a glulam frame with cross laminated timber (CLT) floor, roof and stability walls, together with perimeter wall cassettes. The structure was designed to deliver permanent quality, adaptability and long term energy efficiency, to meet the sustainability objectives. The structure took the form of a glulam frame with visible grade CLT panels providing core stability to the walls and floors, which were to be left largely exposed within the finished structure. The timber cassettes were used to erect the walls, ranged from 0.7m – 2.5m in width to 1.5m – 12.5m in length to accommodate the window arrangement. The connections used were galvanized steel bracketry, with connection timber plugs and covers – boarded to provide fire protection to the connections.
Sky’s own sustainability strategy shaped the buildings philosophy. The targets included a 15% reduction in embodied carbon of construction, 27% of recycled content, responsible sourcing of materials through PEFC-certified timber and 80% of key materials by mass manufacture within a given radius, depending on density.
The solid timber frame gives the natural look and feel that Sky required and timber cassettes offer the low thermal resistance and high airtightness that the structure demanded to meet the challenging design brief. The building features a green roof with a CLT structure, covered with PV Panels and sedum. The building incorporates sustainable features such as rainwater harvesting systems, solar panels and high efficiency lighting to minimise energy consumption. The building was awarded with a BREEAM Excellent rating.
Photo by B&K Structures