Graham has won a prestigious award at the Sustainable Ireland ‘Energy, Environmental & Waste Management Awards’ held at the Ramada Hotel in Belfast.
The Sustainable Building Project of the Year Award was presented to Graham for the project at Victoria Primary School, Ballyhalbert, County Down. The new school has low running costs, a low carbon footprint and utilises renewable energy sources and natural ventilation. Rainwater harvesting has also been incorporated with the collected water being used to flush the toilets.
The £1.7m Design and Build project is the first of its type in Northern Ireland to have a stand alone biomass boiler and it became the first building anywhere in the UK to receive a Grade A under the new Energy Performance Certification scheme.
Alison Campbell, Principal of Victoria Primary School explained how the positive environmental credentials of the project have a beneficial effect on day to day life in the school, “The environmentally friendly aspects of the building create a great learning atmosphere for all and educate the children and parents of how important it is to think about what impact we have on the environment.’’
Speaking, after receiving the award, Project Manager Keith Patrick said:
“Graham is involved in a wide range of innovative construction projects in the UK and Ireland and we are constantly looking at ways to improve how we design and construct buildings. With Victoria Primary School we have adopted highly sustainable design features that will not only save the school money but have less of an impact on the environment.’’
The awards ceremony is organised annually by Sustainable Ireland, in association with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, with the aim of identifying the best in the energy, environmental and waste management fields.