The new brewhouse, Mriehel : environmental control through natural ventilation and shading devices

Abstract

Beers are as much the product of their environment as the output of a process. The new Farsons Brewhouse works as a protective shell accommodating the various building services whilst simultaneously assisting the environmental control of the interiors through two primary strategies: natural ventilation in the brewhalls and shading devices in the office building. Based on a simulated model, results showed that the induced air flow reduces the temperature by 10.7 °C and 8.5 °C in the lower and upper brewhalls respectively during the summer months. Whilst the ventilation system works successfully during most of the time, air changes drop when wind forces create a higher pressure outside of the building, as a result reverse flow occurs. The office building adopts a different design strategy; it incorporates various passive measures with the main feature being an expanded aluminium shading mesh. Monitoring of the internal temperatures before and after the mesh is installed shows that the introduction of shading reduces the peak temperatures in summer whilst maintaining a well lit internal environment. A simulated energy analysis of the building shows a potential reduction in energy consumption of 24% when compared to the same building with typical construction materials. The study concludes that by introducing moderate insulation, shading and night time ventilation internal temperatures are reduced effectively. On the other hand, the type of double glazing has to be carefully weighed, so as to avoid counter-productive results given the mild climate of Malta.