Forest Gate Community School

The new entrance building/multi-use hall at Forest Gate Community School is now taking shape. The works, including the remodelling of this BSF school, are due for completion in August 2011.

Sustainability Talk 1: RockTron

Last Thursday (28th January) we held our first talk in a Sustainability Series, where inventor and entrepreneur, Philip Michael, showed his innovative transformation of waste flyash into the carbon-positive RockTron Alpha, which has now been adopted by three of the major ready-mix companies in the UK and is generating a massive interest around the world wherever there are coal-fired power stations.

For architects wanting colour-consistent fair-face concrete this is exciting news, as the Alpha product is a pure light grey in colour, which is unlike PFAs that still contain mobile heavy metals, including iron, and so have a yellowy hue.
RockTron's proprietary benefication process designed to recycle 100% of fly ash waste from coal-fire power stations produces five valuable eco-minerals; one of which is recycled carbon fuel reburnt in the power stations, producing more energy than the manufacturing process uses. RockTron are now exploring uses for these other high-performance by-products in the Pre-cast concrete, Thermoplastics, Vinyl and Tyre Manufacturing industries, as well as light-weight fillers for the Automotive, Aeropace and the Electronics industries, thus 'greening' a number of supply chains. RockTron, who have already won the Nicklin Medal at the IChemE Awards were also awarded the Fossil Fuels award at the Rushlight Awards for their technology advancement in reducing the need for burning fossil fules.

More information on RockTron can be found at their website


This picture illustrates raw fly ash before processing where the carbon; CarbTron are separated leaving the cleaner Alpha product. The photos were taken with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).

Zero Carbon (Schools) Task Force

On 10th December I presented Ed Balls, Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), Secretary of State and his Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Diana Johnson, with the main recommendations of the Zero Carbon Task Force I have been chairing for nearly two years.

The Task Force and the officials were expecting him to breeze in and thank us for all our hard work, only to be invited to sit down and explain our thoughts in a robust conversation for some 20 minutes. The Task Force was persuaded early on that Zero Carbon was first about behaviour change, and only then technical, and we adopted the Bill Bordass mantra "halve the demand, double the efficiency and halve the carbon in the supply and you are down to one eighth of the emissions".

Poor Amanda Baillieu, much loved editor of BD, has had to resort to climate scepticism (BD 6/11). COP15 in Copenhagen is a huge challenge and a great opportunity for us all, so burying our heads in the sand and hoping it will go away won't get anyone very far. I shall be debating the roles and responsiblities of architects and engineers at the next Edge Debate on 19th Nov in the Danish Embassy and will let you know the outcome.

The Edge

Members of the Edge were out in force at the Institution of Civil Engineers (London) on Tuesday to hear the Presidential Address by fellow Edge Member Prof. Paul Jowitt. "Now is the time" is a powerful challenge to all civil engineers to provide sustainable infrastructure for everyone on the planet including the one billion who have none. The address is available on ice.org.uk/president. Edge members present included Adam Poole (Buro Happold), Paddy Conaghan (Hoare Lea), Michael Dickson (Buro Happold), Mike Murray (1to1solutions), Mark Whitby (co-founder Whitby Bird), Max Fordham (co-founder Max Fordham LLP), Jan Hellings (Olympic Development Authority), Chris Twinn (Arup) and our Robin Nicholson (ECA).

Tour de Pasenville

For the last six years Ted Cullinan has run a two day workshop called the Tour de Pasenville (Pasenville being Nottingham in French) at the University of Nottingham, which involves first, fifth and sixth year architecture students.

Over two days at the end of September, the first years were helped along by the more experienced students to make models, drawings, videos (and human pyramids) to create proposals for an imaginary building situated on the university campus. Each year the brief is based around physical activities to enable to students to recreate the activities that would take place in the buildings. This year the students designed a Department for Circus Skills.

The Tour de Pasenville helps the first years to immediately bond with their fellow "debutants", promotes cross year communication and, perhaps most importantly, encourages students to work quickly and enjoy architecture.

Ben Hopkins

New Library and IT Centre, Fitzwilliam College

On Monday night, Ted Cullinan and Johnny Winter gave a talk at Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge, on the concept design of the new library. The visitors were also given a guided tour of the newly completed library.

Extending on the east wing of Denys Lasdun's 1959 College masterplan, the new building is designed to create a place for study that reflects the peaceful landscape and that respects and enhances the adjacent architecture.

The library, which reached practical completion last week is due to have its collection installed over the next few months, with the building fully open to students after Christmas.