Sustainability is the capacity to support, maintain or endure; within this definition there is much leeway for interpretation and adaptation according to relevant economic, political or cultural conditions. The contact theatre was renovated in 1999 at a time when sustainability issues were coming to the forefront of design, but perhaps when regulations and a building’s environmental impacts were not the principal influences behind its design.
Sustainability encompasses three main facets. There is of course the environmental side, where all must be considered in an attempt to shield the climate from the effects of mass energy consumption. Another facet is the financial side of sustainability, is this design, and in this case ventilation system, going to be financially viable to not only build but maintain and run, and will it save the clients money in the future? Lastly is the concept of social sustainability, and the idea of creating a social resource that will stand the test of time, and remain available to generations of the future.
Short’s final design for the internal studio at the contact theatre spans across a space of 12m x12m. Lining the circumference of the room, at floor level, are the inflow vents, and four outflow vents above the four sides of the room. This naturally ventilated system is supposed to work using upward displacement, whereby the cooler air is input into the building through the low level air vents or windows via a thermally massive concrete plenum (natural non mechanical means), this air is then heated, predominately from the waste body heat of the audience and the stage lighting, it then continues its ascent and exits the building through the outflow vents and out of 4 large stacks. The purpose of these stacks, with their H pot termination design, is to affectively monitor and control the effect of wind and stop precipitation of any sort from entering the internal theatre space. A fan has been fitted into each stack to attempt to counteract any down flow through the stacks.
Sustainability encompasses three main facets. There is of course the environmental side, where all must be considered in an attempt to shield the climate from the effects of mass energy consumption. Another facet is the financial side of sustainability, is this design, and in this case ventilation system, going to be financially viable to not only build but maintain and run, and will it save the clients money in the future? Lastly is the concept of social sustainability, and the idea of creating a social resource that will stand the test of time, and remain available to generations of the future.
Short’s final design for the internal studio at the contact theatre spans across a space of 12m x12m. Lining the circumference of the room, at floor level, are the inflow vents, and four outflow vents above the four sides of the room. This naturally ventilated system is supposed to work using upward displacement, whereby the cooler air is input into the building through the low level air vents or windows via a thermally massive concrete plenum (natural non mechanical means), this air is then heated, predominately from the waste body heat of the audience and the stage lighting, it then continues its ascent and exits the building through the outflow vents and out of 4 large stacks. The purpose of these stacks, with their H pot termination design, is to affectively monitor and control the effect of wind and stop precipitation of any sort from entering the internal theatre space. A fan has been fitted into each stack to attempt to counteract any down flow through the stacks.
The diagram above shows how the system is meant to work with the input air coming in through low level vents and rising out of the high level stacks.
By implementing the method of natural displacment ventilation in his design Short chose a clear path of sustainability and to minimise the impact of his building on the environment, as no energy is needed to ventilate the building, just the wind. With the building’s orientation facing South West to the city’s North East prevailing wind, and a fairly open area surrounding the building, wind access to the site is good and gives the building’s natural ventilation system the best chance of functioning soundly.
However an experiment was carried out by Shaun Fitzgerald and Andrew Woods (who are researching ‘mixing’ ventilation at Cambridge, and how it performs in comparison to displacement ventilation) to assess the operation of the system Short designed, by placing thermocouples in every aspect of the system, stacks, plenum, auditorium, and the ducts, they proceeded to record the temperature fluctuations during five minute intervals across a period of a few months. Although their experiment recorded encouraging results with the interior temperature remaining fairly constant throughout, there was an issue regarding the operation of one of the stacks. An inflow draft was being created during the colder periods of the day (early morning and night time) through one of the high level stacks, when it should be functioning as an outflow source. This tells us that instead of using displacement ventilation purely, the system was functioning as a hybrid mixed ventilation system. Although employed accidentally, this system had more potential to save money during winter periods due to less need for heating, Fitzgerald and Wood believed. Due to this malfunctioning stack, a cloud or mass of cold air descends upon the space below, diluting and diffusing out as it descends. This issue will go unnoticed by the audience in the room providing that the distance the cloud of cold air has to travel between the stack and the audience in the space below is 5m or above and that the cold air as it diffuses, can warm to within 3-4ºC of the current room temperature. Below this threshold and it is likely that the cold air will not have diffused out enough and the audience will experience a drop in temperature.
The diagram above clearly shows how one of the stacks, stack 3 is malfunctioning and allowing cold air from outside, into the interior at various times. However there still remains consistent performance overall in terms of maintaining the interior temperature as a whole.
Below is a graph explaining the effect of the cold air entering through stack 3 in relation to the temperature of the interior air. Curves represent plumes of air with flow rates of 0.1, 0.3 and 1 cu m/s, which sufficiently ventilates a room containing 10, 30, and 100 people respectively. In a room where the distance between the floor and the ceiling is 5m or above, the plume of cold air is able to dissipate and dilute sufficiently, so that the air at seat level in the theatre is only a couple of degrees cooler than the exterior.
Below is a graph explaining the effect of the cold air entering through stack 3 in relation to the temperature of the interior air. Curves represent plumes of air with flow rates of 0.1, 0.3 and 1 cu m/s, which sufficiently ventilates a room containing 10, 30, and 100 people respectively. In a room where the distance between the floor and the ceiling is 5m or above, the plume of cold air is able to dissipate and dilute sufficiently, so that the air at seat level in the theatre is only a couple of degrees cooler than the exterior.
Short has also looked to be sustainable and environmentally friendly through his reuse, or maintenance of the previous masonry shell of the theatre, which stood before the renovation. This minimises building costs and means that no energy or materials were wasted in demolishing and rebuilding. However the original external woodwool roof covering was deemed no longer efficient enough so an external roof covering and additional insulation later were added, to minimise heat loss and hopefully improve the effectiveness of their ventilation system.
Although the system is not functioning as it was intended the mixing or hybrid system can in fact save money and energy in the winter if monitored and controlled properly. The diagram below shows the potential savings on heating if mixing ventilation was used as opposed to displacement.
The graph below shows the heating energy required to maintain the interior temperature of the theatre at 22ºC with a hybrid mixed system in comparison with a displacement ventilation system where there is a maximum of 24ºC and a minimum of 18ºC achieved.
Although the system is not functioning as it was intended the mixing or hybrid system can in fact save money and energy in the winter if monitored and controlled properly. The diagram below shows the potential savings on heating if mixing ventilation was used as opposed to displacement.
The graph below shows the heating energy required to maintain the interior temperature of the theatre at 22ºC with a hybrid mixed system in comparison with a displacement ventilation system where there is a maximum of 24ºC and a minimum of 18ºC achieved.
There was also a great deal of emphasis put upon the financial aspect of the build. As mentioned earlier, funds are not abundant for a publicly owned theatre company, therefore Short concentrated on providing Contact with a ventilation system that cost them no money to run and meant that they would no longer be financially unstable. This was one of the key criteria that were laid down as an objective for the build; the company wanted to permanently or at least extensively eliminate their looming financial debts and demands therefore making them financially sustainable. The graph above therefore is also applicable financially, although the renovation of the theatre and its ventilation system has seen positive changes, making Contact both environmentally and economically more sustainable, there is potential for it to perform even better on both fronts if the design had incorporated a hybrid mixed ventilation system properly (rather than the displacement ventilation system which is accidentally performing as a hybrid).
However the Contact theatre is not just reliant upon energy and funding for it to flourish and become truly sustainable, it is a publicly owned entity that embraces the people as a further source to their success. Since the building’s renovation, Contact has found greater success becoming more widely known and branching out from traditional theatre into dance, music, poetry, spoken word, hip hop and art.
Short and Contact achieved what they set out to achieve, they started with three main criteria: they wanted to house their whole company under one roof, they wanted to create a building which is instantly recognisable and iconic, and they wanted their building to be financially sustainable and low maintenance. All these criteria were achieved, however perhaps the last could have been improved upon. Although Short’s displacement ventilation system worked in terms of reducing the heating costs drastically, it malfunctioned and acted as a mixed ventilation system. Had Short designed the system to be a mixed system to begin with, statistics have shown that heating and maintenance costs could have been cut even further making the building as a whole perform even better as a sustainable building. “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED 1987: 43). The contact theatre has not only bettered the possibilities for those in the present to enjoy and participate in their local theatre but due to its new financial stability and innovative ventilation system, it will endure time and remain to support the cultural activities of the community, making it therefore a successful sustainable building.
However the Contact theatre is not just reliant upon energy and funding for it to flourish and become truly sustainable, it is a publicly owned entity that embraces the people as a further source to their success. Since the building’s renovation, Contact has found greater success becoming more widely known and branching out from traditional theatre into dance, music, poetry, spoken word, hip hop and art.
Short and Contact achieved what they set out to achieve, they started with three main criteria: they wanted to house their whole company under one roof, they wanted to create a building which is instantly recognisable and iconic, and they wanted their building to be financially sustainable and low maintenance. All these criteria were achieved, however perhaps the last could have been improved upon. Although Short’s displacement ventilation system worked in terms of reducing the heating costs drastically, it malfunctioned and acted as a mixed ventilation system. Had Short designed the system to be a mixed system to begin with, statistics have shown that heating and maintenance costs could have been cut even further making the building as a whole perform even better as a sustainable building. “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED 1987: 43). The contact theatre has not only bettered the possibilities for those in the present to enjoy and participate in their local theatre but due to its new financial stability and innovative ventilation system, it will endure time and remain to support the cultural activities of the community, making it therefore a successful sustainable building.