The Renewable Energy Centre is the first commercially developed building to be carbon neutral and entirely self-sufficient in energy. Indeed the various integrated renewable energy systems will, over any year, generate a surplus. This will be fed into the electricity grid for the use of the community.

The project brief was the conversion and extension of the former Ova ltine Egg Farm to provide 2,665 m2 of headquarters office accommodation for RES. This was to be carried out using, so far as economically practical, a range of renewable energy measures and employing ‘best practice’ sustainable strategies. RES was assisted in this objective by the contribution from the EC Framework 5 Programme. This funding was conditional on the adoption of a radically innovative approach to resolving sustainable issues and the involvement of a pan-European design and development team. On the basis of this innovative content, RES requested that additional facilities for visitors and parties who might wish to see and learn about the building and its energy systems.

Accordingly, the design principles upon which the development is based were to:

• Provide a fully operational head office which meets the commercial needs and conditions of the property market

• Provide exhibition, conference and facilities for the use of RES and visitors to the building

• Deliver a building that minimises energy consumption and the use of scarce resources and that contributes positively to local economic and community needs

• Deliver a building whose energy consumption is provided entirely from on-site renewable energy sources

• Integrate seamlessly the social, technical and aesthetic aspects of the project.