last updated 24th November 05
By 4ecotips

Eden Project education facility puts energy into grid

One of the world's most sustainable buildings modeled on "nature's architecture" and generating energy from daylight, recently opened at Cornwall's famous Eden Project. True to the Project's overall principles, this new education and research facility, named 'The Core', is a superb example of "sustainability utilising building integrated photovoltaics (PV)."

Described by Eden's chief executive, Tim Smit, as "the finest modern building in the world"; The Core is the most geometrically complex roof structure into which solar technology specialist, solarcentury, has incorporated solar panels.

The building's architecture follows the Fibonacci series, a unique pattern at the heart of nature that generates, for example, the spirals in snail's shells or the pattern of seeds in the head of a sunflower. In order to integrate the photovoltaics into the building's unique form, the panels were intricately faceted over a bespoke mounting structure constructed from a spiral of steel tubes.

When viewed from above the panels spiral outward in a ring around the heart of the building, forming the shape of a flower with eleven individual petals.

At the centre of The Core the PV panels descend to a solar terrace, encircled by bespoke solar glass-glass laminates that outline the centre of the flower. The glass-glass laminates, mounted using bolt-through fittings, provide a canopy to protect the building's exterior timber helping to offset the costs of regular building materials.

Despite The Core's intricate design, the PV was fully installed within the projects build programme. The system was connected to the grid in mid-August 2005 and by mid-September the PV system had generated over 5000kWh of energy, enough electricity to power two, three-bedroom homes for an entire year. In a single month, over two tonnes of CO2 emissions were prevented from entering our warming environment.

Solarcentury's chief executive, Jeremy Leggett explains: "The Core demonstrates that solar energy can be incorporated into virtually any building to provide renewable energy and help reduce carbon emissions. Educating young people in the benefits of solar and other renewables is key to achieving a truly sustainable future."

Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the projects architect is enthusiastic about the building's future: "It is a very green building and one conducive to learning for both adults and children. If every building was designed like this, the world would be a better place."