The Person Environment Activity Research Laboratory (PEARL) is UCL’s first net-zero carbon building, designed to test the effects on people in full-scale urban environments. Within the building, stands a steel portal frame and within that is a two-storey CLT and glulam structure called the ‘Groove’ that provides lab and office space. Offsite timber specialist B&K Structures constructed and delivered the steel frame and the engineered timber structure to an incredibly high level of accuracy, shortening the critical path and helping the project achieve academic acclaim and an ‘Outstanding’ BREEAM rating.
Healthcare, academia and manufacturing are amongst the client groups who typically require the construction of controlled environments such as cryogenic and anechoic chambers. However, UCL PEARL constitutes a research facility on a completely different scale, taking on the proportions of a film studio’s soundstage, but demanding full control over ambient conditions.
The client, University College London, commissioned the landmark Net Zero Carbon research facility, with the London office of Penoyre & Prasad leading the design team.
The facility has a floor area of around 4,000m2, with a building volume of 44,000m2, which offers a 10-metre clear height across the majority of the facility, with the design requirement to create a 40m clear span to accommodate a wide variety of experiments.
The scale of the structure meant that a portal steel frame was required to create the overall spans, with engineered timber preferred for the major internal structure due to its speed of erection, its aesthetic appeal, and other benefits. As a hybrid specialist, B&K Structures was selected to deliver both the steel and timber elements as one package, facilitating a speedy and accurate construction phase to the highest quality. With one specialist sub-contractor retaining responsibility, details are designed with tolerances and material nuances in mind. The client also benefits from a single point of order and warranty for both parts of the frame.
Prefabricated as large structural elements with tight tolerances for a neat finish, CLT panels greatly reduce crane loads and erection programmes, with just-in-time scheduling of deliveries reducing site storage. Ease of installation is another benefit of dry construction with only portable power tools required for the assembly and no wet trades involved.
Erection time was rapid for UCL PEARL, taking just 13% of that required for a conventional timber frame structure. In fact, the superstructure of the Groove was erected by four people in just 512 working-hours compared to conventional timber frame which would have taken circa 3,800 working-hours (Duncheva, 2019).
This solution ensured a swift and cost-effective completion of a complex and efficient building. In the process, the building achieved the UK’s first ‘Outstanding’ award under the 2018 BREEAM requirements. The entire project has been widely heralded as ground-breaking, both for the quality of the building, and for the purpose and potential it serves for research.
B&K Structures (BKS) worked with specialist engineer Engenuiti, timber supplier Stora Enso and main contractor VolkerFitzpatrick to design, manufacture and install the outer portal steel frame which, once clad, sheltered the erection of the two storey, 62.2 x 11.8m mass timber ‘Groove’ building, also undertaken by the team.
The project was completed working to BIM Level 2, encouraging collaboration, reducing the risk of error and speeding processes up. All disciplines submitted their detailed designs to a ‘federated’ model that was evaluated for clashes prior to the build. The offsite manufacture and sequencing of the timber systems achieved the highest level of accuracy, aided by the strong collaboration between all parties.
VolkerFitzpatrick Ltd Project Manager, Tim Cloves commented: “B&K Structures was employed to design and build an offsite solution that could be installed after the steel frame had been erected: releasing the critical path back to us. This was an excellent solution enabling us to coordinate the M&E install within our programme and allowed exterior works to be completed simultaneously.”
The project package included 592m³ of engineered timber sourced sustainably, mainly across Northern Europe, with a 100% PEFC certified full chain of custody. This delivered maximum points at MAT03 under the 2018 version of BREEAM, while sequestering 379 tonnes of CO2e. Thanks to the responsible forestry management standards through BKS’ selective supply chain, it can be shown that all of the timber used was replaced by new growth in just 8 minutes 34 seconds.
Stuart Deverill, divisional MD for VolkerFitzpatrick, commented: “This project pushed the boundaries of what’s expected in so many ways, so it’s fantastic to see our environmental diligence recognised with an Outstanding BREEAM certification.”
For more information about B&K Structures and our projects, speak to a member of our team: [email protected] | 01773 853 400
Originally published in Education Design & Build
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