Reuben College Awards

Reuben College has been recognised by winning sustainability awards in two award events: the OxPropFest and the Oxford Preservation Trust 2024 Awards. Attune is proud to have played a part in assisting the Team and the College realise their sustainability goals.

The project involved the refurbishment of the existing Worthington and Jackson wings and the basement of the Radcliffe Science library. The team was tasked with providing a comfortable, modern environment in the listed building. Additionally, this world-class facility had to provide a high sustainability performance that worked within it’s historic constraints.

With mechanical ventilation overruled early on in the concept design, the team had to work to provide relief from overheating using opening windows.

The improvements to the large existing single-glazed windows included the addition of secondary glazing units and film to the existing glazing. This approach not only increased the thermal performance but also significantly improved the sound reduction. The design also afforded an opportunity to reduce noise to the inside when the whole system was open for rapid ventilation.

Client Collaboration

The Reuben College team was already aware of noise from traffic waiting and moving off from the South Parks Road/Parks Road Junction. The existing single glazing provided little sound insulation when closed, and external noise included some adverse features such as loud music and bass, particularly in the summer when windows were opened for ventilation. This noise was disruptive to quiet working.

Attune engaged closely with the Reuben College team to understand their concerns and presented findings following comprehensive assessments.

A Comprehensive Study

Attune conducted an extensive study of existing and projected noise levels, demonstrating the potential to meet criteria comparable to new constructions, despite the challenges of refurbishing a Grade II listed building. In collaboration with services consultant QODA, the process included:

• External sound surveys around the site.
• Discussions with the Reuben College team to understand their concerns and expectations.
• Internal sound surveys to determine how the existing levels around the building compared with guidance such as the BCO Guide to Specification, BS 8233 and BB93.
• Measurements taken with windows both open and closed to gather comprehensive data.
• Modelling of anticipated changes to internal noise levels with the new window configurations.
• Coordination with QODA to integrate findings into their overheating analysis.
• Presentation of coordinated findings to the design and Reuben College teams.

Optimised Solution

We advised the services engineers on ways to improve the acoustic performance of the facades while considering ventilation. A very simple solution in the form of a ‘convoluted path’ was agreed. When opened in the normal way of lifting the bottom sash pane, noise would directly affect the internal spaces. This is shown in image (a), with the path of noise in red and airflow in blue.

(a)

Adding secondary glazing allowed a convoluted or ‘tortuous’ path to reduce the flow of noise entering the room. This meant that the internal secondary unit could be opened in the opposite way to the external sash, maximising the sound reduction effects of the whole system. This system operation is shown in image (b) below.

(b)

Indeed, the openings in the glazing still needed to provide minimum open areas to allow sufficient ventilation in to the rooms. We fine-tuned our expectations and recommendations working closely with the services engineers. This method of opening the internal secondary glazing and the existing existing sash units was then carried through to the building’s Operation and Maintenance manual.

We were therefore able to present a coordinated data-based solution to the Reuben College team. The solution considered their needs in day-to-day operation, but also addressed the sustainability needs of the project.

Awards Ceremony

The awards ceremony for the OxPropFest was a black tie dinner held at the prestigious dining hall at Keble College. It was a great opportunity for the team to get back together to celebrate this success. Attune Director Andy Hiernaux attended on behalf of the business; he is pictured second from right in the group photo.

Attune is proud to have contributed to the sustainable refurbishment of such a historic building.

See more details on our wider scope of work on Reuben College here.

Featured image credit: Aurelien Langlais of UK Property Forums.