Manchester College of Arts and Technology (MANCAT)

Manchester, UK

Background

Manchester College of Arts and Technology (MANCAT) have incorporated pioneering design and building innovation in their brand new North Manchester Sixth Form Centre in the Harpurhey area of the city. The new building is a redevelopment of a brownfield site, which used to house the public baths. In a major project the original Grade 2 listed Victorian building has been retained and restored, whilst a futuristic extension has been added, to create a sixth form college, library and exhibition hall incorporating the latest building integrated solar technology.

Inspired by the installation at the CIS Tower, the new building is clad in an array of solar PV modules, providing an extremely cost effective alternative to conventional cladding materials. The new library also incorporates solar thermal technologies.

Solar design
solarcentury provided specialised PV knowledge to design a weatherproof rainscreen cladding solution by integrating photovoltaics (PV) on the south facing wall of the new development, offsetting building material costs of traditional cladding materials. In total, 482 80W and 178 165W Sharp modules are used in the cladding design.

solarcentury worked with Walker Simpson Architects to engineer an optimal design solution for solar modules. Their positioning in relation to the main wall helps to regulate the internal temperatures of the building by minimising solar gain in the summer, and creating a thermal insulation layer, know as the 'stack effect' in the winter. This, in addition contributes to minimising the year-round enegy demand of the development, and therefore maximises the contribution of the PV to the buildings energy requirements.

Unique features:
MANCAT demonstrates the potential of solar technology as a building integrated material and it's additional design considerations that can further help reduce a building's year-round energy demand. The solar cladding also reduces solar glare to the development, which helps to keep the building cool during summer months by minimising excessive thermal gain. This application therefore minimises the buildings overall energy demand to further reduce overhead energy costs.

The PV cladding at MANCAT was part funded by the Department of Trade and Industry.

Summary of electricity comparisons

• Generates total electricity for 14 average three-bed houses each year
• Generates enough electricity each year to light an average three-bed house for over 73 years
• Generates enough electricity to make 1.6 million pieces of toast/2.3 million cups of tea every year

Summary of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) comparisons

• Annually saves over 19 tonnes of CO2 emissions, a major greenhouse gas, equivalent to 1.3 million party balloons or 11 Olympic swimming pools.
• Annual CO2 savings: would take 100 years for 26 trees to remove from the environment.
• To achieve the Kyoto Protocol, the UK is required to reduce CO2 emissions by 12.5% below 1990 levels by 2010. This installation offsets the contribution of 55 UK individuals to this target every year.