Michael Young Building, OU
Architect Jestico+Whiles
Lighting consultant Halcrow
Client Open University
The Michael Young Building for the Open
University Business School, was built at the
Walton Hall Campus in Milton Keynes and
completed in 2001. The building provides
office and support accommodation for the staff
originally occupying several temporary
buildings on campus; in addition the building
provides more meeting rooms with state ofthe art audio-visual facilities for the whole
University.
The brief called for a low energy building
designed to minimize maintenance and
running costs. The BRE Method of Assessment
(BREEAM) was used for environmental
assessment during the design stage, and some
modifications were made to achieve the
highest levels, resulting in one of the highest
scoring assessments made for any building.
The general strategy for the building can be
seen from the plans, consisting of a simple H-
Plan configuration of three storeys, consisting
of a central core facilities block with four
workspace wings radiating from it. The work
spaces are designed to be as flexible as
possible to facilitate a range of working
configurations, such as cellular, group, or open
plan.
The central core contains the vertical
circulation, with an atrium giving access to
the cafeteria. This central circulation area is
designed to facilitate social interaction among
staff and students.
The ventilation strategy for the building is
closely related to the daylighting in that the
method involved (Termodeck) demands that
the window area does not not exceed 35 per
cent glazing, resulting in lower Daylight
Factors (DF) for the interiors. The workspace
wings are orientated east/west to optimize
solar gain, and to increase views out to the
landscape, whilst limiting solar glare.
The general principle for the lighting is that
themaximumuseismadeofavailabledaylight
with a system of daylight linking. When the
artificial lighting is required (if there is an
absence of natural light during the day) it will
be automatically dimmed in response to an
improvement in the local daylight level.
Furthermore lights local to each work station
can be turned on by clicking a special screen
icon on their PC, with the light level being
capable of being adjusted. Proximity switches
automatically switch the artificial lights off
after 15 minutes when no-one is there.
The final solution to the building, with its
apparent success in terms of energy use, will
be closely monitored for the first two years of
occupation to ensure that the design intent is
being delivered, with monthly energy reports
being posted on the building’s website.136 Daylighting: Natural Light in Architecture
Plan at ground level
Plan at first floor level
Jestico+Whiles ArchitectsJestico+Whiles Architects