Student’s designs for Peak District hub wins sustainability award

A De Montfort University (DMU) student has won an award from a prestigious architectural body for designing a sustainable activities hub for the heart of the Peak District.

Architecture student Oliver Thomas was honoured by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and OPUN, the architecture and design centre for the East Midlands, with the Student Low Carbon Design Award for his Hope Valley Centre project.

The accolade is the only student award available from RIBA East Midlands, which represents 1,000 chartered architects and more than 1,500 chartered architectural practices across the region. For this award, students from across the UK were given the opportunity to submit a report which demonstrated a sustainable approach to architectural design.

Oliver’s Hope Valley Centre is a proposal for a new multi-purpose recreation centre that would be the base for millions of outdoor enthusiasts visiting the Peak District every year. It would consist of a number of areas including a café and restaurant, tourist information centre, overnight accommodation, and cycle and mountaineering shops.

Oliver, 26, from Leicester, said: “The proposal aims to reflect the social needs of the area by providing a facility that caters for some of the 22 million people claimed to visit every year.

“The village of Hope in the Peak District is somewhat of a honey-pot for outdoor enthusiasts as it is a central area for people to start and end a day’s activities, which include everything from walking, cycling and climbing to horse-riding, gliding and fishing.

“It is an environment where everyone is welcome and people are encouraged to interact not only between themselves, but also with the natural environment in which the centre is based. The building would in turn aspire to be recognised, not only on a local level, but would become one of national importance, not solely for its use, but additionally for its design, sustainability and integration credentials.

“In light of this, as there is such concern about a change in quality of the rural environment within the UK, the proposed scheme intends to promote a high quality new sustainable development within the Peak District.”

The building was designed to use sustainable technologies and design principles such as natural ventilation, rainwater harvesting, solar power, heat recovery systems and appropriate building orientation and material selection.

In addition to this, a CHP biomass system is also housed in an on site energy centre and storage building to deliver renewable energy requirements to the main building. There is also a cultivated area where suitable trees are grown to provide wood pellets as a sustainable source of fuel for the CHP biomass system.

Oliver, who is currently undertaking his RIBA Part III qualification to become a fully qualified architect, added: “It was a great honour and surprise to be nominated for the award. Winning the award has brought to an end what has been a year full of hard work and determination.”

The award was presented to Oliver at the RIBA East Midlands Award 2011 ceremony in September, where DMU was also honoured with the ‘OPUN Place’ Award for its transformation of the entrance to the university campus.

The award was won for the £35 million development of the Hugh Aston building, including the creation of two new public squares, Hawthorn Square and Magazine Square, and the repositioning of the road to free up the Magazine Gateway, which previously stood in the middle of several lanes of traffic.

Tweet