Manchester College of Arts and Technology (MANCAT)

Manchester College of Art and Technology, winner of the RIBA/LSC Further Education Design Excellence Award 2006.

Manchester College of Art and Technology, winner of the RIBA/LSC Further Education Design Excellence Award 2006.

Manchester College of Arts and Technology (MANCAT) have incorporated pioneering design and building innovation in their North Manchester Sixth Form Centre and Library in the Harpurhey area of the city. The new building is a redevelopment of a brownfield site, which used to house the public baths. In a major project, part of the original Grade 2 listed Victorian building has been retained and brought back to life as an arts centre and exhibition space. A striking new extension has been added, to create a sixth form college and library incorporating the latest building integrated solar technology.

The south facade of the building is clad in a striking monolithic array of solar PV modules. Taking advantage of the building's flat roof, rows of PV modules crown the building providing further clean energy. The new library roof also incorporates solar thermal technologies.

Solarcentury provided specialised PV knowledge to assist in the design of the ventilated rainscreen cladding system on the south facade of the new development, offsetting building material costs of traditional cladding materials. A total of 482 80W SHARP polycrystalline modules are used in the cladding design with a further 178 165W SHARP modules providing the roof top power system.

We worked with Walker Simpson Architects to engineer an optimal design solution using solar modules. Their positioning in relation to the main wall and the creation of a "cladding void" helps to regulate the internal temperatures of the building by minimising solar gain in the summer and, secondly, by encouraging a 'thermal stack effect' which helps to draw air through the building spaces. This helps to minimising the year-round energy demand of the development, to keep the PV modules operating at their highest efficiency and so maximises the contribution of the PV to the building's energy requirements.

Careful consideration was also given to the design of the rooftop arrays to minimise the impact on the building design. The system sits on top of a single ply membrane roof without requiring any penetrations.

Unique features:

Solar Cladding on the Manchester College of Arts and Technology

Solar Cladding on the Manchester College of Arts and Technology

MANCAT demonstrates the potential of solar technology as a truly building integrated material and how it can help to reduce a building's year-round energy demand. The solar cladding also reduces solar gain to the development helping to keep the building cool during summer months. This application therefore minimises the building's overall energy demand to further reduce overhead energy costs.

The PV cladding at MANCAT was part funded by the Department of Trade and Industry.

Summary of electricity comparisons:

  • Generates total electricity for 14 average three-bed houses each year.
  • Generates enough electricity each year to light an average three-bed house for over 73 years.
  • Generates enough electricity to make 1.6 million pieces of toast/2.3 million cups of tea every year.

Summary of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) comparisons:

  • Annually saves over 19 tonnes of CO2 emissions, a major greenhouse gas, equivalent to 1.3 million party balloons or 11 Olympic swimming pools.
  • Annual CO 2 savings: would take 100 years for 26 trees to remove from the environment.
  • To achieve the Kyoto Protocol, the UK is required to reduce CO2 emissions by 12.5% below 1990 levels by 2010. This installation offsets the contribution of 55 UK individuals to this target every year.