Conservation-focused project gives maximum effectiveness for minimum visibility
30 Jan 2019
Processing waste is hard enough when there is no mains sewerage available but what about when the plant lies in a sculpture park and environmental beauty spot, with minimal visibility required? WPL had an artful response...
Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s new £3.6 million visitor centre, The Weston, is due to open on 30 March 2019.
Billed as the largest of its kind in Europe, the Wakefield site is designed by award-winning architectural practice Feilden Fowles, which specialises in environmentally sustainable buildings.
The Weston is naturally ventilated and features an air-source heat pump and a dense green roof. It also incorporates a pioneering low-energy environmental control system to maintain favourable conditions in the gallery all year round.
Boasting works by leading British artists including Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Andy Goldsworthy, it includes a restaurant, gallery, public foyer and shop – all set into a hillside within a former quarry.
With YSP welcoming 500,000 visitors annually the location also represents a considerable waste processing project.
Water feature:
Not only that but the park also requires a system that can manage the seasonal fluctuations in load while complementing the environmental ambitions of the wider project.
The challenge was to come up with an effective process management solution – but one that ensured the lowest level of visibility
The challenge was to come up with an effective process management solution – but one that ensured the lowest level of visibility.
Pumps expert, Hampshire-based WPL was originally approached for help by buildings and services consultancy Skelly & Couch following an earlier lunch-and-learn CPD seminar with technical sales manager Dominic Hamblin.
WPL managing director Gareth Jones said the contract drew on the firm’s success in the tourism and leisure market where seasonal flows, environmental protection and visual aesthetics are major considerations for clients and customers.
WPL’s Off-Mains Drainage Seminar, accredited by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), explained the options available to the client when mains sewerage is not possible.
Environment Agency consent for YSP required high quality discharge to the River Dearne and WPL provided a high specification two-tank modular WPL HiPAF – high performance aerated filter – treatment system. The HiPAF was installed by Alive Construction along with duty-standby blowers and GSM telemetry, also provided by WPL, to give extra resilience.
The bespoke system is designed for a maximum flow of 18m3/d, discharge of 22kg/d biological oxygen demand (BOD) and 3kg/d ammonia.
Dominic Hamblin said, “I’m very proud that WPL is playing a role in bringing more people to Yorkshire Sculpture Park by providing wastewater treatment for this stunning new visitor centre and returning a steady flow of high quality treated water to the environment.”
