Eton College, Bekynton Fields

David assisted John Simpson and Partners (JSP) Architects in winning the competition to design the extension to the Eton College school with an innovative sustainability strategy which provides renewable heating and cooling to the new classrooms.

For the competition, an evaporative cooling system was proposed to provide cooling to the 300-person capacity lecture theatre. The evaporative cooling system came under the form of a fountain which offered both pleasant aesthetics and a reduction in the carbon emissions from cooling by 99%.

Due to global warming and to the predicted increased use of laptops in classrooms, the problem of overheating of classrooms will become more likely in the future. In order to future-proof the new classrooms, the evaporative cooling system was extended to the classrooms, to provide a top-up cooling system. After evaluating a number of options, the low-carbon combination of the evaporative cooling system and a ground source heat pump system was recommended to provide underfloor heating and underfloor cooling to the classrooms.

This innovative sustainability strategy has enabled Eton College to significantly reduce their carbon emissions. The client was particularly pleased about the design as it gave them the ability to provide comfort cooling to their classrooms at virtually no additional capital cost.