Sky Academy Skills Studio, Livingston

Background

The construction of a new Sky Academy Skills Studio to offer a learning experience for students aged between 8-18 years. The building is a double height single storey framed construction and will consist of Reception, Welcome Room, Immersive Room and four Studios. The new building was constructed directly behind Sky 3.

Project

Stroma were asked to carry out a thermographic survey to cover as much of the external building envelope either internally or externally, as is reasonably practical, and submit the results with Thermograms in a written report. The survey was conducted in line with the criteria set out in: BS EN 1317:1999, ‘Thermal Performance of Buildings - Qualitative detection of thermal irregularities in building envelopes - Infrared method’, and ‘BRE IP1/06.

Outcome

A survey was undertaken to provide enough thermographic information to confirm:

• Continuity of insulation in accordance with the construction drawings supplied
• Avoidance of excessive thermal bridging
• Avoidance of air leakage paths through the fabric (except through intentional openings)

The criteria used was a combination of objective testing, Thermal Indexing (TI) and subjective comparisons of the building surfaces. The survey itself found no significant defects in the construction of the building or the continuity of insulation incorporated within the fabric and the report demonstrated that the thermal behaviour is representative of a modern, new construction building. Whilst a number of minor observations were made throughout the report, which overall made up a very small percentage of the building fabric, the underlying criteria and general findings suggested that the building complies with all reasonable expectations and that a BREEAM credit be rewarded.