Southampton Centre for Cancer Immunology

WORLD CLASS RESEARCH CENTRE

System Five, a 4energy group company, designed and installed a Trend Controls based BEMS which is responsible for the control and monitoring of critical systems at the new state of the art Southampton Centre for Cancer Immunology, based on the Southampton General Hospital site. System Five, was appointed by Spie UK to work on this inspiring project designed by PM Devereux (now part of Ryder Architecture) and developed by Kier Construction Southern.

STATE OF THE ART FACILITIES IN AN INSPIRATIONAL SETTING

Home to world-class research facilities, a clinical trials unit, a suite of molecular biology laboratories and a pre-clinical immunology lab investigating the complex interaction of cancer and the immune system, the Southampton Centre for Cancer Immunology has recently reached an impressive £25M fundraising target.

The Centre for Cancer Immunology accommodates world-leading immunotherapy scientists, clinicians and technical experts who collaborate in an interactive environment to generate new knowledge, develop new treatments and research multiple cancer forms from lung to skin, and pancreatic to neuroblastoma.

The exterior design of the Centre for Cancer Immunology creates an impressive landmark to inspire its staff and visitors, whilst the internal design of this 4,000m2, four-story building, has been developed to promote innovation by enhanced social cohesion. The upper two floors of the building have space dedicated for researchers and administration, while the lower two floors house laboratories.

MAXIMISING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

The building is designed to maximise energy efficiency while delivering the required laboratory conditions. The façades are optimised to reduce heat transfer and to reduce solar gain to avoid overheating. Lighting design uses a reduced lighting power density and absence detection to reduce the energy used to light the building. High-efficiency boilers and chillers reduce the energy demand to heat and cool the building, and low specific fan powers ensure that the high levels of ventilation required are delivered as energy efficiently as possible.

High-efficiency heat recovery is employed on the ventilation systems for the pre-clinical unit, laboratories and office areas. Overall, the building achieves an 8% reduction in carbon emissions as compared to Part L of the Building Regulations 2010, demonstrating the design has made significant steps to reducing energy demand.

Low-flow water fittings are used throughout the building to achieve a 40% reduction in potable water demand. Water metering and leak detection are provided and linked to the BEMS to minimise wastage of water. High efficiency instantaneous domestic hot water generators are utilised to reduce energy consumption associated with hot water demand.

HITTING HIGH BREEAM TARGETS

A laboratory is a facility designed for collection, processing and/or testing of specimens or procedures, some of which may be hazardous. In order to maintain controlled conditions to enable experiments and comply with health and safety standards, typically laboratories: Contain high levels of specialist research equipment; are heavily serviced to circulate air and to supply heating, cooling, humidity, and clean air; require 24-hour access and fail-safe redundant backup systems and uninterrupted power supply or emergency power to enable irreplaceable experiments. As a consequence, laboratories can consume up to 4 times more energy than the typical office. It was therefore not possible for this specialist research facility to achieve “BREEAM Excellent” in a cost-effective manner which preserves carbon and energy management targets. The centre was delighted to be awarded “BREEAM Very Good”. This has been achieved through a number of measures including multiple sustainability features, together with a commitment to best practice construction site management.