Ben Ainslie is one of the most successful sailors in Olympic history. He won four gold medals in four consecutive Olympics.
Now he plans to build a high-tech headquarters for his commercial sporting team Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR). This new facility will be home to BAR during its preparation for the 35th America’s Cup in 2017.
HGP Architects won the contract to design the BAR HQ in Portsmouth for Ben Ainslie’s challenge for the America’s Cup. This sustainable facility will act as a showcase for clean energy, innovation, and technology.
BAR plans to use the team headquarters for training, boat building, and also as a public visitor center.
Image courtesy http://www.lowcarbon.com/
BAR is working in partnership with renewable investment firm Low Carbon to provide clean energy for the facility.
Ninety percent of the BAR HQ’s projected 640 MWh per annum electricity requirement will be met by solar panels installed on the roof. This will rise to 100% once the energy monitoring system is enabled.
The building has been designed to minimize the amount of energy required for lighting by making use of natural light as much as possible. The building will also have highly efficient luminaries and automatic lighting controls using LED technology.
The sustainable performance of this HQ will help it get the BREEAM ‘Excellent’ status, which is the hallmark of excellence in sustainable building.
