EVT for Healthy Living

Excel Building Solutions’s EVT Breathing Technology has been used to construct the £3 million Hallhill Healthy Living Centre in Dunbar, East Lothian. Designed and developed by East Lothian District Council for the Dunbar Community Development Company, the centre was specified to provide high levels of insulation, thereby minimising space heating costs, and to utilise building materials from sustainable or recycled sources where practicable.

A structure of factory-manufactured panels, based on Engineered I Beams, was manufactured and erected by Cumbria-based Eden Frame. The panels are insulated with Warmcel 500 high performance insulation. Panelvent external sheathing and Paneline on the internal face complete the EVT structure.

The roofs of the centre were built on site, again, using a construction of Engineered I Beams and Warmcel 500 insulation.

The central sports hall has a steel frame construction infilled with EVT panels. This design was utilised here to achieve the large spans required, although Engineered I Beams can be used to span up to 12m.

All of the materials used in the panels adhere to the sustainability requirements of the architects and the EVT standard-compliant materials used, including BBA-approved Warmcel 500 and Engineered I Beams, are also guaranteed free from CFCs, VOCs or added formaldehyde.

Wall thicknesses of 170mm and 240mm, insulated to the full depth of their Engineered I Beam studs with Warmcel 500, provide U values of 0.16 W/m2K and 0.14 W/m2K. Roof sections of 200mm and 300mm deliver U values of 0.14 W/m2K and 0.12 W/m2K.

To provide thermal mass, the predominantly single storey structure has solid concrete floors and a central ‘spine’ corridor constructed with blockwork walls. Double-glazed, softwood windows provide the centre with natural daylight and a degree of solar gain.

Covering a total floor area of around 1,500 m2, the centre houses various sports facilities, including a gym and squash courts, along with social areas, a bar, administration offices and meeting rooms.

Externally, the building is clad in a combination of cedar cladding and render. The render was applied to a stainless steel lath over timber battens to create a rainscreen. A corrugated ‘Onduline’ bitumen fibre roof completes the external finish of the centre.