The Pines Calyx conference centre

The Pines Calyx is a conference and events venue conceived of as a carbon neutral catalyst for rural and urban sustainable development and for grass roots responses to climate change. The building, in a stunning parkland location nestled in the White Cliffs of Dover, is owned by The Bay Trust, a local environmental charitable trust. The building’s designers, Helionix Designs led an international collaborative team in delivering an award winning commercial building which demonstrates a successful fusion of historic construction techniques with 21st century technologies, design and analysis.

The key features of the building include its earth-sheltered and curved design with all the main walls being constructed in rammed chalk. One of the most stunning features is the use of ‘timbrel-vaulting’ (‘Catalan vaulting’), a centuries’ old method of construction successfully revived on this project. The technique delivers optimum sustainability and economics in creating the building’s shallow domes (no concrete, no formwork and swift to construct).

Other features include natural ventilation systems, ‘virtual daylight’ lighting, fully sustainable water management systems (including reedbeds naturally treating waste water), solar thermal hot water and energy management tailored to an ongoing programme for fully carbon neutral, renewable supply. The building, built to “passiv-haus” standards, delivers savings of up to c.80% in embodied and operational energy (when compared to current UK best practice). Unique for an earth sheltered building is the minimal use of concrete with a very high percentage of the building being constructed from local (mostly ‘waste’) materials. The outcome of the construction of the building has been an overall enhancement in on site biodiversity.

See www.pinescalyx.co.uk for information on the building as a venue. A short video of the project and other information is available to view via www.pinescalyxproject.co.uk .

Client: Bay Trust
Design: Helionix Design & Conker Conservation Ltd.
Structural Engineer: Cameron Taylor (now part of Scott Wilson)

• Click on the thumbnails below to expand images