The greenest healthcare building in the UK Foleshill Health Centre in Coventry has reached practical completion. The building is one of the most energy efficient buildings in the NHS estate.
Built with specially designed Portakabin modules to Passivhaus standards, it is expected the health centre will be the first of its type in the UK to be certified to the Passivhaus standard.
Foleshill already has an energy performance certificate (EPC) A Rating, making this the most energy efficient health building in the UK.
There were only 25 weeks between 10 Dec when 14-specially designed Portakabin modules were delivered on site and practical completion on 4 June 2021. This is significantly less than a traditionally constructed building, in fact, the building was watertight in three days.
The £3.3 million project is a partnership between CHP and NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). The Centre will be a high-quality building for GPs, primary care staff and patients who are currently using a temporary surgery about a quarter of a mile away. It has five consulting rooms and two treatment rooms, serving an area of Coventry with high health needs.
The GP surgery team will move in during August begin treating patients soon afterwards.
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Green transport
Foleshill HC is located near bus routes, has secure bicycle parking to encourage sustainable transport and an electric car charging point.
Energy efficiency at Foleshill Health Centre
Its energy efficiency features include triple glazed windows, which can be opened if required. The building is highly insulated, so it is warm in winter and cool in the summer. All rooms have filtered 100% fresh air from ducts in the ceiling, supplied from ventilation units that recover heat from stale air leaving the building. The air is filtered to the same standard as an operating theatre.
Foleshill Health Centre has a small heating system using air source heat pumps connected to small radiators. Photovoltaic (solar) panels are on the roof and all the lighting is efficient LED lamps. It is expected that the annual utilities running costs for Foleshill will be approximately a third of the cost of a traditional build, giving significant savings over the lifetime of the building.
“This is a very exciting project which has taken a lot of work to get over the line,” said Malcolm Twite, CHP’s Chief Commercial Officer and Interim Director of Property. “It paves the way for future sustainable developments which will make a valuable contribution to the NHS Carbon Footprint Plus target for net zero by 2045. Health estate makes up 4-5% of England’s carbon footprint, so it is vital to find ways forward to reducing this. We are very proud to have led the way with our partners at Foleshill.”
8 June 2021
Delivery partners
Portakabin (Main contractor), Tooley Foster Architects (Passivhaus experts), AECOM infrastructure consultants and Arden Estate Partnerships Limited (development management).
Awards: Constructing Excellence East Midlands – Winner of the Offsite Award and Highly Commended in the Value Award (2 Sept 2021).
Read more:
News about Foleshill Health Centre, Coventry
Photography: Beth Walsh www.bethwalsh.co.uk
Drone/Timelapse: Heavy-Duty Time-Lapse www.hd-t.co.uk
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