University of Exeter Forum, Wilkinson Eyre.

The project by English firm, Wilkinson Eyre Architects for The Forum of the University of Exeter brings existing and new structures under a single timber gridshell roof. A structure like a “green corridor” that shelters a range of spaces for students, giving them great views of the city and of the Dartmoor area.



English firm, Wilkinson Eyre Architects and Buro Happold, building services engineering together came up with a multipurpose space under a huge timber gridshell roof that was highly Commended in the Structural category of the 2012 Wood Awards.





The Forum houses the University of Exeter’s new reception in addition to a range of state of the art teaching and discussion spaces.



Large windows let in natural daylight and guarantee excellent ventilation, all bearing in mind environmental sustainability – indeed, the structure is on track to meet the BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) score required to achieve an “excellent” rating.



Other key low impact features adopted for the building’s thermal mass include ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) that will reduce the amount of CO2 per KWh of delivered heat by 45% in comparison to a traditional gas condensing boiler.



This architecture achieves a 16% improvement on the client’s environmental targets, so the University of Exeter can boast that its Forum not only lives up to the name of the institution but is also a true symbol of sustainability, helping to make sure that our planet will exist in the future of today's students.

Project: Wilkinson Eyre, http://www.wilkinsoneyre.com
Engineering: http://www.burohappold.com/
Location: Exeter, UK
Year: 2012
Photos: Courtesy of Wilkinson Eyre, © Hufton+Crow
Link: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/