Willmott Dixon’s Centre of Medicine for the University of Leicester was declared Project of the year – Built environment at the ENDS Environmental Impact Awards.
In one of the industry’s main awards to celebrate the achievements of environmental experts in creating more sustainable buildings, the Impact Awards demonstrate what can be gained by investing in and developing environmental and sustainability skills.
To win, the Centre of Medicine had to demonstrate innovation and new ideas that broke ground or overcame barriers, plus the longevity of the advances or change and the unique skills of environmental professionals.
Judges said the Centre for Medicine won because it set a new benchmark for energy efficiency performance in large-scale buildings. Certified as the UK’s largest non-residential building constructed to Passivhaus standard, and with a BREEAM Excellent and EPC A rating, it is an exemplar for future developments of this size and complexity for both the university sector and the UK as a whole.
The Centre for Medicine comprises a number of environmental features including a green wall made up of 75,000 individual plants, CTB blinds that track the sun and automatically close to prevent solar gain, a ground to air heat exchange system and solar PV panels. The eco-friendly building is expected to reduce energy bills by six times compared to a conventional build.