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Going green at Havering

Tuesday, 23 February 2010 12:43

Tags: construction | Havering | London | young people involvement

A new myplace centre will be one of very few buildings in the UK to have a zero carbon rating. The £4.7 million youth centre in Harold Hill, Havering, will be the greenest building in the borough.

Councillor Steven Kelly, deputy leader of the council and Harold Hill Ambitions project leader, said: "I am immensely proud that this new youth centre will be zero carbon, not only is this our greenest building, but very few buildings in the entire country are built to this standard."

The Harold Hill myplace centre will be constructed to be as sustainable as possible, and due to its careful design will generate enough energy to power the building.

What it means to be green

Havering A major factor in the design of Harold Hill's myplace centre is the environmental and sustainability goals which helped make its exterior so unique, and the choice to construct the building from materials from sustainable sources.

The Havering Centre will include solar panels, and other energy-efficient features, such as natural ventilation, natural day lighting, and high insulation levels.All of the timber used in the project will be sourced from sustainable forests. The performance hall, using ‘gluelam timber', will create ‘double-height' interior spaces, which as well as being environmentally efficient, will improve the appearance of the building.

Jacobs' architect Shelley Smith said: "Jacobs' sustainability engineers will ‘maximise the site's potential' by building it with the lowest-possible carbon footprint." An ‘IT hall', situated in the north façade, will maximise potential daylight without overheating the space, as the south side of the building will catch most of the sunlight.A zero carbon building produces no carbon dioxide and reduces dependence on fossil fuels.

Why Havering decided to go green

In July 2007 the Government announced that all new homes will be zero carbon from 2016, and in 2008, set out a goal, that all new non-domestic buildings should be zero carbon from 2019 (with earlier targets for schools and other public buildings).

Havering Council, Jacobs' Architects and the other partners involved in developing Harold Hill's myplace centre, reasoned that meeting the government's targets for new buildings this year would ensure the centre would be available to young people for years to come, and would give the community the boost of publicity from this unique project.

The decision to develop such an ambitious myplace project has paid off, as it has been featured in publications such as Design Week and The Grid magazine since the plans were given the green light.

Working together to bring myplace to the community

In March 2009 the Big Lottery Fund presented Havering Council with a grant of £4.7million to open a myplace centre at Gooshays Drive, Harold Hill.

This development was the ideal facility for the Havering community, who had asked for more for young people to do at a consultation with the Council.

Councillor Kelly said: "We asked Harold Hill residents what they wanted, and this is what they told us, I hope that many of them will be making use of this state-of-the-art centre."

So, on November 2 last year, the Council submitted a planning application for the exciting and innovative landmark youth centre.

The centre is part of the Council's multi-million pound Harold Hill Ambitions scheme, which aims to regenerate the area.

Why Harold Hill needed a myplace centre

Harold Hill myplace has been publicised as a 'centre of excellence' by Havering Council, due to its emphasis on youth enterprise work with young people, their parents and local people, which it hopes will boost confidence, skills and job opportunities, and bring the community together.

The centre will provide the young people of Havering with access to a juice bar and cafe, a crèche, dance and music performance space, a recording studio, a bike workshop, an information service, and a computer suite.

Councillor Kelly said: "myplace is going to be a great facility for Harold Hill and will provide a meeting place for young people with a whole range of things for them to do."

Shaping myplace

Havering In an effort to keep young people at the heart of the project, a selection of 14-19 year olds from the area were consulted on the plans, and after a number of meetings, they selected one of the designs proposed by the architects.

Project architect Shelley Smith said: "I met about 15 teenagers and worked the design through with them."

Jacobs Architecture suggested the building's ‘caterpillar' shape because they believe it represents ‘change and development.' Shelley said: "The caterpillar came out of 3D modelling - but it is also a metaphor for what it provides."

The architects won The Havering Centre project in December of last year, having competed against four other groups for the job.

The specifics

The Havering Project received full planning permission, and work will start in June, located in Gooshays and replacing the current Albemarle centre.It will be used by young people between the ages of 11 and 21 but with a particular focus on 14 -19 year olds.

The council hopes young people in the area who are not currently in education or employment will benefit most from the centre due to the opportunities myplace offers such as the chance to develop skills which can used in future careers, and take part in activities which encourage a healthy and positive lifestyle.The building will also house a local radio station and the Prospects graduate careers centre.

Find out more about the inspiration for the building designs and the creative team behind Harold Hill myplace in our Inspirational feature.

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