Marki Educational and Recreation Centre receives Sports Facility of 2019 Award!
The Marki Educational and Recreation Centre (Mareckie Centrum Edukacyjno-Rekreacyjne – MCER), constructed by Budimex, was awarded the title of ‘Sports Facility of 2019’ by Klub Sportowej Polski. The latter encompasses 991 different entities, including local government authorities, construction companies as well as sports and educational associations. This is the third industry award won by this facility. Prior to this, MCER also won the PLGBC Awards 2012 facility design award and the Green Laurel of the Polish Chamber of Commerce.
The Marki Educational and Recreation Centre (consisting of a school and a sports centre) is the most advanced public utility building constructed by Budimex in Poland. It is also the first Polish public facility to hold BREEAM certification at a ‘very good’ level. Thanks to the use of the most innovative technologies available, instead of the facility consuming electricity it will actually produce it and then feed it into the power grid. In addition, it will also collect rainwater and constantly optimise energy consumption in every area. The opening of a modern primary school, the first part of the MCER complex, took place on 2 September 2019, with the sports and recreation centre due to open on 30 November of this year.
The construction works at the MCER facility began in March 2018 and took only 1 year and 7 months. The work pace was extremely fast, especially since the complex was to be used as a sport, conference, educational and recreational facility simultaneously. Since the size of the investment project area was nearly 15,000 m2, the facility was divided into two separate buildings. Building A serves as an educational facility and houses a primary school, a library and a canteen. Building B, on the other hand, is dedicated solely to sports and leisure activities. It includes a sports and recreational swimming pool with a separate SPA section, as well as sports rooms plus a theatre and entertainment hall. The facility is further complemented by two outdoor athletics fields and a safety town.
‘We used innovative solutions from the very beginning of this project. This was because the entire undertaking was being prepared using the BIM model, i.e. a cross-industry 3D investment project. In addition, we also used a documentation and BIM model management platform, which allowed us to access the projects and the model itself via mobile devices. The system also allowed electronic circulation of documents between us – the general contractor – and the investor, designers and inspectors,’ said Dariusz Blocher, President of Budimex S.A.
The entire investment is characterised by a very low energy consumption. This is one of the requirements set for the MCER project by the BREEAM certification criteria. A cogeneration electricity generator has been installed in building B. Combustion-generated heat will be used to heat the water used throughout the facility. A mechanism for recovering heat from shower sewerage has been installed as well. Photovoltaic panels are yet another important eco-friendly addition, as the 60 kW rooftop installation will constantly supply the building with green energy.
‘The photovoltaic panels that we installed will reduce the amount of energy drawn from the power grid. And during those times when the school is closed, such as during holidays, any excess energy will be transferred back to the power grid. It will then be possible to partially recover it after the holiday period has ended, which will further reduce the electricity bills,’ added Dariusz Blocher.
The MCER complex also utilises such eco-friendly solutions as
• a school classroom ventilation system of our own design, based around individual heat recovery units. The air handling units are coupled to air-to-air heat pumps located on the roof, which heat or cool the air depending on the season of the year;
• a BMS to monitor the sealing of pipes;
• a heat-pump based heating system in building A;
• batteries which meet the BREEAM certification requirements.
Click here to see a video clip with more details about the facility.