PARK & RIDE FOR A BETTER WORLD: Accoya® Wood in Bus Shelter made Entirely from Sustainable Materials The scenario: Guildford Borough Council commissioned a team of designers, led by BBM Sustainable Design, to build a new park & ride shelter in the Merrow suburb of Guildford, Surrey, to be made entirely from sustainable materials. Park and ride facilities allow commuters to avoid the stress of driving in to a congested town or city and facing scarce, expensive city centre parking, whilst at the same time taking traffic off the roads to lessen carbon emissions. Duncan Baker-Brown of BBM says, “Merrow Park & Ride had to have a very small carbon footprint; that’s not just a building that doesn’t cost a lot to run and maybe creates some of its own electricity or heat but a building where you really have to consider all the materials you use carefully.” Whilst sustainability and energy efficiency were major considerations, the longevity and maintenance requirements of the materials used were also important. 1 of 2

The solution: The design team chose a prefabricated construction system called MODCELL® which comprises highly engineered timber frames in-filled with locally sourced straw bales, creating a super insulated low energy building. The system was complemented by five dimensionally stable and thermally efficient ‘A’ rated windows and one door made from Accoya Wood and the building was finished with sweet chestnut cladding from local coppices. The door and windows were finished with three coats of factory applied Satin Jet Black and 1.25 m3 Accoya wood was used. The Accoya wood was supplied by Westgate...