Erne Campus is world’s largest passive house premium building

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The 8,200 m2 new build project is also the first building in the UK to achieve both passive house premium and BREEAM outstanding accreditations.

Designed by Hamilton Architects and constructed by local firm Tracey Brothers Limited, the four-storey campus is fully funded by Northern Ireland’s Department for the Economy and will accommodate in excess of 800 full-time students, 2,000 part-time students and 120 staff when it opens in September.

South West College chief executive, Michael McAlister, said: “From the earliest stages of planning, achieving sustainability and reaching the passive house premium standard has been central to the Erne Campus project. Achieving this accreditation is a significant milestone and one that we take great pride in.

“Renewable energy and sustainability have been at the forefront of college delivery for several years, both in terms of the curriculum we offer to students and our own construction practices. The world-class Erne Campus will deliver a unique curriculum, education and a training programme specialising in renewable energy and sustainability in a live working environment. We hope that in this way we can also advance sustainability in construction across these islands and beyond.”

Meanwhile Tomás O’Leary, managing director of MosArt Architects and passive house consultant on the project, added: “I am delighted to announce the official certification of the recently completed Erne Campus at South West College, Enniskillen, as the world’s largest passive house ‘premium’ educational building.

“The project sets a new standard for educational buildings across the globe in terms of energy efficiency, year-round comfort, and indoor air quality. It will act as a beacon and a source of inspiration for building designers everywhere in delivering on much-needed dramatic reductions in carbon emissions from the built environment.”

Passive house ‘premium’ is an advanced version of the standard that requires buildings not only to meet the classic passive house standard for fabric efficiency and ventilation, but also to generate 120 kWh/m2/yr of renewable energy on site.