Project overview

The University of East Anglia in Norwich provides top quality academic facilities to over 14,000 students. A new addition to their distinctive campus is the Enterprise Centre, a pioneering low-carbon building, which has been designed to become the greenest commercial building in the UK achieving Passivhaus certification and a BREEAM Outstanding rating in the process. The client wanted this state-of-the-art facility to set the standards for building design through the innovative use of renewable technologies, and the building’s roof played a vital role in achieving this with the incorporation of photovoltaics (PV).

The 4,000m² roof was waterproofed with Bauder’s reinforced bitumen system Bauderflex, which has a life expectancy in excess of 30 years. A particularly challenging element of the installation was the amount of detailing requirements, with valleys created along the perimeter of the central roof areas to encourage water attenuation, mitigating runoff impacts and allowing for reuse throughout the building.

Roof areas totaling 480m² were fitted with 160 PV Modules, enabling the Centre to generate at least 43.58 Megawatt Hours of solar power each year. The PV system was installed without any penetration of the waterproofing, ensuring that the integrity of the roof is completely upheld. The simplicity of the installation also meant that the entire array could be installed in just three days.

All works were completed on time and to budget, providing the client with an innovative building that boasts remarkable sustainable credentials - with less than a quarter of the carbon impact of a normal building.