Lamilux lights up new passive business centre

This article was originally published in issue 32 of Passive House Plus magazine. Want immediate access to all back issues and exclusive extra content? Click here to subscribe for as little as €10, or click here to receive the next issue free of charge

Designed by leading passive house architects Architype, Bicester Eco Business Centre is a one-of-a-kind hub providing 125 modern workspaces whilst supporting start-ups and small businesses.

It is part of the new North West Bicester eco-town, a development of over 6,000 sustainable homes. The landmark business centre, which opened its doors in October, is the first non-residential building in the UK to achieve the passive house ‘plus’ standard.

The plus standard rewards passive house projects that also generate a certain amount of on-site renewable energy.

LAMILUX UK Ltd supplied and installed a total of 25 glass skylights, smoke vents and access hatches for the building. These were comprised of 18 passive house certified (phA advanced component) Skylight FE units with an overall U-value of 0.84; six Glass Skylight FE3° smoke vents with a glazing U-value of 0.6 W/m2K; and one Skylight FE0° access hatch.

“The skylights not only bring daylight and fresh air into the building for a sense of wellbeing, but also provide smoke and heat exhaust ventilation for the safety of the tenants in the event of a fire,” Natalie Goodridge of LAMILUX UK told Passive House Plus.