Good call: integrating architecture and environmental control, this new call centre civilises a mundane building type.Call centres are a scourge of modern commercial life, a twenty-first-century version of the mill or factory to be built as cheaply and expediently as possible. So this new call centre in Galway by Dublin-based Bucholz McEvoy is that rare thing; decent, environmentally conscious architecture, that humanises the workplace. There is a commercial upside to such virtuousness, in reduced running costs running costs npl [of business] → gastos mpl corrientes [of car] → gastos mpl de mantenimiento running costs npl [of business and low staff turnover, but it also acts as a powerful retort to lowest common denominator low·est common denominator n. 1. See least common denominator. 2. a. The most basic, least sophisticated level of taste, sensibility, or opinion among a group of people. b. impulses and instincts. We need more good examples of bad building types. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The client, SAP, is a German software company. Its new contact centre deals with technical queries by phone from around the Western hemisphere Western Hemisphere Part of Earth comprising North and South America and the surrounding waters. Longitudes 20° W and 160° E are often considered its boundaries. . To cover different time zones, the 360 staff work in three shifts, so typical building occupancy is around 18 hours, from 7am to 1am. As each staff member toils at an individual workstation rather than hot desking Using a set of cubicles for mobile workers who come into the office from time to time. It is similar to hoteling, but reservations are not required. People come in and sit down at the next available seat, plug into the network and go to work, which means a vice president might sit next to , different parts of the building are occupied at different times of day. The staff age profile is young, between 21 and 30. For some, it is their first experience of office life and the working environment will condition expectations and performance. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Because of the more variable occupancy patterns, heating, cooling and ventilation requirements change with shifts and seasons. So Bucholz McEvoy developed an integrated approach that exploits passive techniques of environmental control and minimises mechanical systems, but is also flexible enough to respond to these changing conditions. The site is on a business park east of Galway, a typically featureless edge-of-town condition. Two three-storey blocks of offices flank a central glazed atrium. The shallow 13m wide office bars are orientated o·ri·en·tate v. o·ri·en·tat·ed, o·ri·en·tat·ing, o·ri·en·tates v.tr. To orient: "He . . . on a north-south axis to minimise thermal insolation. The atrium acts as a buffer space both socially and environmentally. A soothing internal landscape of birch trees, pebble beds and timber benches gives workers visual and experiential respite. A herringbone grid of thin plywood beams supports the glazed atrium roof. Offices and public areas are naturally cross ventilated ven·ti·late tr.v. ven·ti·lat·ed, ven·ti·lat·ing, ven·ti·lates 1. To admit fresh air into (a mine, for example) to replace stale or noxious air. 2. through the external facades, with the atrium acting as a supply and exhaust air volume. Ventilation and heating functions are housed in and controlled by narrow panels set at 1.5m centres between fixed glazing, giving the facades a strong vertical rhythm. Each panel has radiators at low level, manually operated vertical ventilators at mid height (so staff can adjust their own comfort levels), and heat recovery fan units at high level. The fan units, developed specially for the project, help to propel fresh air to the centre of open plan areas, reducing reliance on direct window ventilation. The atrium is ventilated by natural convection with vents at the top and bottom of the space. Under windy conditions (the site is both exposed and elevated, and Galway has a windy microclimate microclimate Climatic condition in a relatively small area, within a few feet above and below the Earth's surface and within canopies of vegetation. Microclimates are affected by such factors as temperature, humidity, wind and turbulence, dew, frost, heat balance, ), the atrium functions as an exhaust system Noun 1. exhaust system - system consisting of the parts of an engine through which burned gases or steam are discharged exhaust automobile engine - the engine that propels an automobile , drawing air from offices via high level vents run by the building mananagement system. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Exposed precast concrete precast concrete Concrete cast into structural members under factory conditions and then brought to the building site. A 20th-century development, precasting increases the strength and finish durability of the member and decreases time and construction costs. slabs maximise thermal mass Thermal mass, in the most general sense, is any mass that absorbs and holds heat. In the architectural sense, it is any mass that absorbs and stores heat during sunny periods when the heat is not desirable in the living space of a building, and then releases the heat during which evens out the temperature gradient temperature gradient n. The rate of change of temperature with displacement in a given direction from a given reference point. temperature gradient generated by long periods of occupation and heat gains from equipment and lighting. In summer, the slab is cooled by night ventilation and in winter the slab absorbs and retains casual heat gains, reducing the requirement for morning pre-heat. Planning and orientation maximise daylight penetration with solar gain tempered through the use of cedar brise soleils. Uplighters integrated into the concrete structure provide ambient, diffuse light when daylight is insufficient. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Beyond the familiar strategies of passive environmental control, the architecture manifests a sensuous, tectonic pleasure in how things are made and put together, clearly reflecting human thought and skill. To Bucholz McEvoy, this is just as critical to concepts of sustainability. As they perceptively note: 'In our increasingly digital culture, we feel that expressions of human creation must reflect the humanity in their making.' |
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