Owing to its prominent location and importance to the university’s profile, we were keen to develop a high quality building, which we termed HIP (Heating Infrastructure Project). Although we were acutely aware of needing to respond sensitively to the Conservation Area context, we wanted to reflect the building’s use through its appearance.

We devised a visually striking, but technically quite complex, cladding system, which became the pivotal element of the whole project. The whole façade is ventilated – a base of patterned durbar plate, glass and steel grating is overlaid by repeating anodised aluminium panels, organised to allow air to move in and out of the building. Diamond shaped panels higher up accommodate the flue extracts, all the while creating an eye-catching finish.

The scale and proportions of the new energy centre were influenced by the heritage context. Despite the chimney being 46m high to meet regulations, it is constructed in stainless steel and kept as sleek as possible to reduce its impact on the skyline. Pitched roofs also mimic the gables of Waterhouse’s neighbouring boiler house.

Reducing energy consumption was obviously a key driver, and we embraced this in the building fabric as well as with improvements to the plant itself – glazed areas expose the inner workings of the building whilst minimising the need for artificial lighting, and aluminium sheets on the roof prevent thermal overheating. Altogether, the energy centre is saving 6,700 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year, equivalent to taking 3,000 cars off the road.