Chelmsford Museum, Essex
The brief provided by the client, Chelmsford Borough Council, for the design of the new extension
to Chelmsford Museum was to provide a model of sustainable construction. As well as being
designed to meet current Building Regulation standards such as for airtightness, the
new extension exceeds statutory requirements in many areas. For example, the ground source heat pump,
heat exchangers and enhanced thermal insulation have contributed to an energy saving estimated
to be in the region of 40% relative to 2002 standards. An additional 250mm of mineral wool was
also added throughout the loft space in the existing building. Water consumption has been reduced
by approximately 40% by the use of
efficient fittings and a rainwater harvesting system,
which will be used to irrigate the park.
In order to educate and inspire visitors to the museum, a panel in the entrance area of the building
explains how the museum is helping the environment. This display incorporates a monitor connected
to the ground source heat pump (GSHP) which provides a live feed of the energy and carbon emission saved. Soft and hard landscaping has been completed to a high specification and new trees and yew hedging have already been planted. A wildflower area, new enclosed garden and picnic area for groups have been created beside the museum. Thirty bat boxes, including two built into the walls of the building, will
provide homes for six species of bat living in the vicinity of the park and museum.
