07/09/2011 - Telford International Centre awarded ‘Very Good’ BREEAM rating

Stalwart Thomas Vale who is currently completing work on Telford International Centre has been awarded a BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) rating of Very Good in its latest assessment.

The £6 million extension to Telford International Centre, being constructed for Southwater Event Group has involved the extension to the centre to provide it with a new entrance, public concourse and events suite, together with internal refurbishment and reorganisation of the Southern elevation of the centre.

The new ‘Ludlow Suite’ will provide the centre with a new events suite and is set to hold up to 1500 delegates once complete. The new facility will enable Southwater Event Group to compete more effectively at a national and international level and bring more business to the area, which will subsequently provide more job and investment opportunities.

The structure so far consists of approx’ 300 tons of steel, 3.1 miles of cold rolled cladding rails and purlins, 3.53 miles of hot rolled steel, and roof trusses 34 metres long which is the length of 3 Double Decker buses end to end.

The steel framed, energy efficient building also features low energy lighting in order to manage energy consumption more effectively. The lighting has a presence detection feature designed to only emit light when the room is being used, a further energy saving feature. Low water sanitary ware has been used to save water in the centre’s efforts to create a more environmentally friendly and sustainable building.

A Building Management System (BMS) has also been fitted to control the natural ventilation of the building and generate energy savings. The computer-based control system manages the internal environment of the building by distributing air throughout the building and locally controlling the mixture of heating and cooling to achieve the desired room temperature. The aim of the system is to manage the energy consumption to subsequently reduce heating/cooling losses and reduce costs.

The overall redevelopment of the Telford International Centre is a £20 million joint initiative between Southwater Event Group and Telford & Wrekin Council. The 55 acre site around the existing Southwater area in the Town Centre will be radically regenerated by introducing a new 143,000 sq m mixed use development. The scheme plans to bring together new eateries, bars and shops, as well as a 12500 sq m leisure scheme with new and improved facilities for the community. The master plan will help make Telford an even more attractive destination for people to visit, with Telford International Centre at its core.