Future Garden Centres - Nature

The concept

This concept is specifically geared to people who enjoy spending their free time in nature. The building, comprising many natural materials, has been built with respect for nature and will not look out of place in a rural setting. The aim in designing this garden centre was to create an ecological, “energy-neutral” concept with due consideration for environmental factors.
The concept is based on a cruciform ground plan, so that the building will have the same attractive appearance on all sides. There is no fixed routing; visitors are drawn from one alluring attraction to the next, without feeling compelled to follow a predetermined route. This turns shopping into an adventure.

Ecology

The garden centre has been built with respect for nature and is finished with natural materials such as wood and sedum roofs.
Energy consumption is reduced by 30% by using the latest insulating materials such as thicker sandwich panels, new advanced glass systems and insulated gutters, and by reducing the number of thermal bridges.
The “respect for nature” theme is also evident in the use of new techniques based on renewable energy sources. 

Adventure

With its low, chalet-like architecture, the garden centre is reminiscent of the kind of buildings typically encountered in natural, woody areas. Nature, freedom, holidays, a healthy & active lifestyle and adventure are the key concepts of the Nature-based greenhouse. 

Sustainability

The Nature concept is based on the principle of sustainability in the use of materials and energy. The environment and the building’s surroundings are spared. Investing in this concept means investing in future generations.
The retailers exploiting such a garden centre convey to their customers the message that the future of their customers and their environment is of great concern to them.

Energy-saving

The environmentally friendly garden centre of the Nature concept is based on energy management and two key principles:

• use of energy-saving devices in the building
• use of renewable energy sources. 

Energy-saving devices in the building

As in utility and house construction, in which EPC values (1.6 and 1.0) are constantly being reduced in response to government regulations, the requirements formulated for future garden centres will likewise become increasingly stringent. This, and the ever-rising costs of fossil fuels, is a persuasive reason for seriously reconsidering energy consumption, and implementing energy-saving devices where possible.

Examples of such devices are:

• new types of glass with lower K values
• new roof and gutter systems intended to reduce the number of thermal   bridges
• a new type of IQ heating glass (K value 0.8 W/m2K)
• gutter insulation
• floor insulation
• mechanical ventilation instead of ventilation frames
• modern high-frequency lighting armatures
• more efficiently insulated sandwich panels
• more efficiently designed air holes.

Our study showed that a saving in energy of 30% relative to present-day garden centres can be realized with the aid of such devices. 

Use of renewable energy sources

• Solar energy or photovoltaic (PV) energy
• Solar collectors
• Heat pumps – energy from the ground (groundwater)
• Heat pump boilers
• Wind energy using wind turbines

Conclusion:

Our study has shown that an energy-neutral garden centre is indeed technically - but unfortunately not commercially feasible. There may be considerations outweighing those of the high investment costs that nevertheless make it desirable to opt for techniques based on the use of renewable energy sources.
The most realistic sustainable technique is that based on the use of a heat pump combined with underground storage of energy. The prices of energy and a garden centre’s expected life make it attractive to invest in this technique at this stage already.

Below are various files containing drawings of this concept.

Drawing Nature - front elevation  pdf-file
Drawing Nature - roof plan  pdf-file
Drawing Nature - plan  pdf-file
Drawing Nature - routing  pdf-file