The Design

The new Foleshill Health Centre is the first Passivhaus medical building built for the NHS. It provides a healthy, controlled environment where temperature, energy usage and air quality are strictly controlled. We developed internal spaces using analysis of usage and movement flows and provided landscaped gardens, electric charging points and sustainable transport options – including disabled parking next to the entrance.

Our conviction to shift the orientation of the original building and set the entrance facing the road produced significant benefits. Not only did this create a restful symmetry and open space between Foleshill and the building opposite, but avoided the formation of anti-social spaces to the rear of the building allowing consulting rooms to face outward onto secluded gardens. 

This landmark development followed a rigorous cost benefit analysis that formed a key contribution to the business case for Foleshill. The analysis demonstrated how Passivhaus buildings will save the health system nearly £0.5m in operating costs over the 25 years after completion and how low energy design could play a significant role for the NHS as they move towards net zero emissions by 2045. 

Tooley Foster have produced an overview of this research in a recent publication, ‘Reducing the cost of Healthcare Buildings with Passivhaus'. It captures detailed cost and energy usage data from two NHS health centres built in 2008 and 2014. Then compares these figures against projected data for the same buildings, but this time constructed to the Passivhaus Classic standard.

You can download the PDF here.