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A significant step
forward in the construction of the new Regional Agricultural
Centre at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate took place
today with the completion of Phase One of the building’s timber
frame.
The Yorkshire
Agricultural Society’s £5.1m project includes a regional food
shop, café and suite of offices, forming a Regional Agricultural
Centre for the north of England.
The development,
designed by P+HS Architects, is being built by North Yorkshire
construction company Houseman and Falshaw and has a range of
special features to make it sustainable and minimise the impact
on the environment.
The timber frame is made from
Douglas fir and glulam timber and will use in the region of 75
tonnes of wood,
equivalent to
approximately 100 trees, all from renewable sources.
Other
sustainable features specified by the Yorkshire Agricultural
Society include a ground source heat recovery system for heating
the offices and shop, rainwater harvesting to provide recycled
water for flushing toilets, solar thermal roof panels for hot
water and sheep’s wool insulation in the building walls. The
shop and café will have a sedum grass roof and drystone outer
wall. When the building is completed in May, it will have a live
information display screen linked to the electronic building
management system which will give constant displays of
information relating to the energy-saving elements of the
building.
Houseman and
Falshaw contract director Clive Mitchell said: “The site of the
new Regional Agricultural Centre was formerly a rail halt and
has required a great deal of preparation, including the
excavation and recycling of 5,000 tonnes of material from the
site.
“We have also
laid 1,000m of drainage, installed the foundations and completed
the test bore hole for the ground source heat recovery system to
confirm the level of heat recovery we can expect from the
ground. This then enables the design of the heat recovery system
to be finalised. The completion of the timber frame is, however,
the first element of the development which will be visible to
visitors to the showground.”
The Yorkshire
Agricultural Society’s deputy chief executive, Heather Parry,
said: “It is exciting to see the timber frame rising out of the
ground and fascinating to see what can be achieved using a
natural resource. We hope others will be inspired by what is
being achieved in this cutting edge building.”
Regional
Development Agency Yorkshire Forward is supporting the build as
part of its drive to encourage sustainable construction in the
region.
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For more information please contact
Sara Lamper
at PR on 01423 701147 |
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