Having already won thousands of plaudits for the quality of its services, Caerphilly Library has now received acclaim for the building’s design.
Sustainable building design assessors BRE have given the new Caerphilly Library a rating of ‘very good’ in a recent BREEAM assessment.
Assessors were impressed with the sympathetic transformation of the building from a former Post Office to a vibrant community hub housing library services, customer service points and a museum all under one roof.
The library building, which received a BREEAM score of 59.1%, boasts an energy efficient design with highly insulated walls, floors and roof, energy-saving lighting and an energy efficient boiler.
Photovoltaic panels have been placed on the roof to reduce energy costs, while the original stone has been recycled for use in the new building to effectively reduce the impact of Co2 emissions. Sustainable timber has been selected for the main roof structure.
The BREEAM certificate not only takes the building’s construction into account, but also its future service operations. Efforts have been made to minimise the impact of staff and customers travelling to and from Caerphilly Library since it opened in January this year. On-going travel plans have been put in place and are being continually monitored to ensure that public and alternative transport are utilised to help limit the building’s wider carbon footprint.
Cllr David Hardacre, Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Performance & Asset Management, said: “At the beginning of this project we set out with our partners to produce an iconic, functional, flexible, high quality, low energy use community resource in the centre of Caerphilly, and we’re all delighted with the results. The new Caerphilly Library has been extremely well received by its users, and this ‘very good’ rating received from the BREEAM assessors is just the icing on the cake.”
Caerphilly Library was constructed by Carter Lauren Construction, working in partnership with a design team consisting of CW Architects, RVW Consulting, Vitec Consult and Celtech.
