Mayville Community Centre, passivhaus retrofit

Winner: 3R Awards (Refurb, Rethink, Retrofit) 2011, Best Public Building (awards organised by The Architects Journal, Construction News and Civil Engineer)

Finalist: The Energy Awards 2011, Energy Efficient Refurbishment of the Year

Full Passivhaus Certification: 14th December 2011

The Mayville Community Centre is the first certified Passivhaus non-domestic retrofit in the UK.

The Passivhaus Enerphit standard - which is more usual for a Passivhaus retrofit - has less stringent demands than the full Passivhaus certification, taking into account the fact that retrofitting a building to such a low energy standard is often more difficult than in a new build.

That the Mayville Community Centre has surpassed the Enerphit standard and reached full certification is testament to rigorous architectural detailing, a high level of support and on-site training and continual monitoring of construction detailing throughout the build process, to ensure the fabric met the Passivhaus air tightness requirements. 

Built circa 1890, the centre is located within the Mayville estate in Islington, London. Ranked in the top 10% most deprived areas in London, the centre provides a focal point for the local residents as a valuable community resource.

The building refurbishment focuses on providing more usable space of a much higher quality than previously, but doing this within the original building footprint to maximise the efficiency of the investment. At the same time, the original building fabric is improved in order to reduce the building’s energy consumption. The finished building is predicted to consume 90%-94% less energy than before the refurbishment. 

Massively improved energy use and CO2 emissions are achieved by excellent levels of insulation, ensuring draught free construction, triple glazed windows and onsite renewables. All junction details are designed to prevent or minimise thermal bridges, and contribute to the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP) energy calculations.

Onsite energy generation will be made possible via 126sqm of photovoltaic panels generating 18kWp of electricity, 3m2 of solar thermal to provide hot water and a ground source heat pump to provide heat to the radiators for space heating. The project takes a holistic approach to the environment incorporating rainwater harvesting, two native wild flower meadow roofs and ecologically sensitive gardens for community food growing projects.

Mayville will be a community centre that local residents can be proud of and a building that will serve their needs without wasting financial resources on large energy bills: a building that will stand as a model for urban sustainability.