A team from Salix have visited our project for Darwin College, Cambridge on site to see the implementation of the decarbonisation works to student accommodation at Frank Young House that they are funding through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
Salix – the Government owned, Non-Departmental Public Body, under the sponsorship of the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero – is playing a key role in increasing awareness of sustainability and retrofit across the UK's public sector.
5th Studio supported Darwin College in a successful application for funding towards the cost of reducing the current heat loss to a level that makes replacement of the old gas boilers with new air source heat pumps both economically and environmentally viable.
The works have been installed as part of the comprehensive renovation to Frank Young House which was designed by Dixon Jones in the 1990s. This has included the installation of new high-performance vacuum glazing, allowing the retention of the original window frames. Other poorly performing W20 steel glazing has been replaced with new triple glazed units in thermally broken composite frames.
Salix client support officer Kate Bowden said:
“It is fascinating to see how the college has come up with innovative solutions.It has proved forward thinking and very creative in coming up with solutions to reducing carbon footprint.”
During the factfinding visit, the Salix team met Second Bursar Giles Greenfield and key members of the teams from 5th Studio and JG Consulting who are involved in the decarbonisation project.
“As a College, we are working towards putting environmental issues at the heart of our strategic and operational decisions and we believe Darwin is already recognised as being one of the greenest Cambridge Colleges.We are delighted to be exploring different technological solutions to heating our properties and making them more energy-efficient.”