Each industrialised construction technique is just another tool in the toolkit, with varying degrees of suitability depending on the particular scenario.. She also raises the point that some people feel threatened by the industrialised construction terminology, as a result of not having the necessary skill set.

The other Circle staff members seem to agree, united in their appreciation for this particularly special aspect of the hospital.Maswiken enthuses about the sense of cleanliness one is given, casting a view across the space.

Kirsty Cobden, a member of the Business Development Team who often holds events in the atrium, says she thinks the area’s aspirational, calm atmosphere has a direct effect on patients.‘It doesn’t look like a hospital,’ she says, ‘so it puts them at ease as soon as they walk in… There’s a smell to hospitals.Whereas when you walk in here, you’ve got the smell of the deli, of the food, of coffee.’.

Martin Wood describes the concentration for the design of the hospital as being on efficiency of flow, in a way that ‘owes more to manufacturing processes, owes more to buildings that are directly about efficiency in outcome.’ However, he notes that at Circle this doesn’t compromise the user experience in the least.‘Emphasis on value,’ he says, ‘does not necessarily mean that it precludes the use of interesting architectural form.’ Rather, the opposite.

The atrium aids with facilitating natural and easy way-finding, says Wood, adding that the building’s concentration on flow efficiency, as well as the sense of legibility the space provides, actually lends itself to a reduction in stress.

‘Everything is self explanatory,’ he says.Highly insulated walls, floors and roofs.. Site specific shading to mitigate summertime overheating, whilst allowing winter solar heat gains.. High performance triple glazing with thermally bridge- free heads, jams and sills.. A thermal bridge-free building via detailed design of junctions, and clear and easily buildable air seal lines, to deliver the specified air permeability..

Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) and low-pressure loss duct systems to minimise heating demand..High-performance air source heat pumps for heating and DHW.. Renewable technology, including building mounted photovoltaics, solar thermal or small-scale generators and consider the use of battery storage for improving payback periods of building mounted renewables..

Recommended design measures for the achievement of Passivhaus performance.What are the benefits and challenges of adopting Passivhaus?.