What's new in the Product
Directory?
Specification Online, the free to use news and online products resource for specifiers working across the architectural and building sector.
Today's Story
DIMPLEX HEAT PUMPS TO CREATE MEGA HEAT AT COLLEGE
A new college campus in Luton being constructed has used Dimplex ground source heat pumps to help meet its twin objectives of energy efficiency and sustainability in a large-scale 1.5MW installation. As part of the Building Schools for the Future initiative, the £56 million development will see a new Luton Sixth Form College built on the site of the existing facility. Part of the brief for the new building was a commitment to sustainability, so renewable heating was a high priority. The design consists of 28 ground source heat pumps ranging in size from 11kW to 75kW with a combined output of around 1.5MW to provide space and water heating. Some of the heat pumps are reversible, so in summer, cool liquid can be circulated through the system to draw heat out of the building;... MORE >
Report of the Week
Doorsets Add to North Glasgow College Safety Features
The new £20 million North Glasgow College campus, built on a brownfield site in the Springburn area, includes a fully-equipped games hall, music rooms and libraries. It marks a significant stage in the regeneration of north Glasgow and the development of one of Scotland's largest further education colleges. The project, which has won an award from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and was a RIBA 2009 award winner, includes over 400 doorsets from Leaderflush... MORE >
Ruth's Blog
Railway of blood
I love the idea of the Blood Railway by Aimee O’Carroll, a student at the AA, which has just won the new award from Foster and Partners for sustainability and infrastructure.
The idea is to link the London hospitals by infrastructure including the old railway that was used to transport the post, and transfer medical supplies, including blood, in that way.
O’Carroll doesn’t shy away from the obvious puns, such as ‘Whitechapel’s urban artery’ and there are obviously parallels between the circulation of the blood and the transport links in a city – London seems on the edge of a massive cardiac infarction most days. She’d have to sort out issues such as refrigeration, but it is a massively appealing conceit.
Product Videos Of The Month
Pilkington - Activ™ Self-Cleaning Glass >
Richard Burbidge - Lion Quays >
Armstrong - 150 Years of Innovation >
Join Us
Supplement Of The Month
Public sector work is likely to change out of all recognition in the next couple of years. The new coalition government is committed not just to austerity measures, but also to a very different type of provision and even of society. The last government embarked on enthusiastic spending, only to find that... View Online
Featured Article Of The Month
Speaking at the end of May, Ty Goddard, who runs the British Council for Schools Environments, warned ‘the political critique is deeply... Read more
