Working with 3 engineers, we proposed a refurbishment plan for a block of student accommodation homes from the 70s to improve occupant wellbeing as well as the buildings performance, resilience and sustainability to meet the demands of 2020 up to the proposed demolition year of 2050. 

 

Following a survey conducted on current users and inspection of the homes, we identified the key areas that would impact user satisfaction as being:

• better acoustic performance

• moisture reduction

• smarter control

 

To improve the buildings performance, we are aiming to:

• minimise thermal bridges

• ensure airtightness

• improve building fabric whilst making sure any additional materials are recyclable and locally-sourced.

 

We proposed innovative and ‘light‘ retrofit solutions to achieve a smarter home and smarter users, whilst keeping the rent affordable to students who need it most.

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I assessed the performance of a student accommodation building on campus. I evaluated total monthly heat losses, following determination of fabric U-values and approximation of ventilation losses by making reasoned assumptions and taking local weather data which we represented in a psychrometric chart, sun path and wind rose diagram, through the Grasshopper plug-in Ladybug. Gathering this heat loss data and visualising it through Microsoft Power BI gave my group a clear understanding of the annual heating demand and how material selection would influence it.

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Identifying the main contributors to fabric heat loss was made easy and I tackled each one individually, opting to adopt natural insulation in the walls and roof. I proposed to use mycelium insulation for its alleged thermal conductivity, natural fire-resistance, biodegradability, air-purifying quality, and its huge opportunity to achieve a circular economy as well as drive research and innovation at the University.

 

I investigated how the peak demands could be levelled out through zoning and integration of bespoke renewable solutions such as PV cells, and air and wastewater heat recovery systems, while exploring innovations such as algae photobio-reactors and anaerobic digestion.