Case study: Naturally ventilated building in a city centre

The Frederick Lanchester Library at Coventry University opened in September 2000 and is one of the largest naturally ventilated buildings in the world. The deep-plan layout and its urban location, close to the city centre of Coventry, made the design of a low energy building without air conditioning and with maximum daylight provision particularly challenging. Both the library and the estates staff are well aware that naturally ventilated buildings require different maintenance procedures to traditional, mechanically ventilated buildings. The library has also demonstrated that it is possible to co-locate areas which are to be occupied for longer periods of time, especially into the evenings and night, within a naturally ventilated building by keeping them separately accessed and controlled. Since overheating in summer is one of the potential problems associated with naturally ventilated buildings, particular attention was given to the effect of the night time cooling on internal temperatures during periods with high ambient temperatures