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The Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 7:27 am
by Chicken Little
'The GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry is a landmark building which is the embodiment of the University’s commitment to sustainability in all its forms, particularly in the area of green chemistry and we will be working closely with our partners at GSK, and the contractors Morgan Sindall, to develop a positive plan of action for rebuilding.'


Not so carbon neutral now! New eco-friendly £15million university laboratory built out of wood goes up in flames


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z3DCaOgbcO

Re: The Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 10:29 am
by Chicken Little
After the Great Fire - and the rebuilding of London by Sir Christopher Wren - an act was passed in 1667 making it illegal to erect buildings using wooden frames.
However, three hundred years on, environmental experts have decided they know better. Timber-framed buildings have become fashionable again because, apparently, they make a "positive contribution to tackling climate change."
As for concerns about the fire risk, these were brushed aside in a 1999 safety report - heavily promoted by the UK Timber Frame Association - which meant that the ban dating from the Great Fire of London was relaxed.
However, it subsequently emerged that the report was flawed. A six-storey timber framed building had been set alight under controlled conditions in an aircraft hanger and then extinguished by firemen. But what the report neglected to mention was that, in the night, the fire had reignited and burned out the top four floors.
Since then there has been a spate of serious fires involving timber-framed buildings, such as the destruction in 2010 of a block of flats in Peckham, South London.
But the University of Nottingham is proving heroically determined not to learn lessons from any of this.
A university spokeswoman said: “We are considering this to be a setback to our plans. There is a determination to re-build but at this stage it is far too early to say whether this will be on the same site, how much it might cost and when we could expect to see that facility open.”