COOPER RESEARCH
(This is a temporary place holder page until the web-site has been completely updated)
Last update Monday, April 26, 2010
General Practice
Technical Agency
|
The
architectural career history of Chris Cooper RIBA (above right) is
unusual, and may conveniently be divided in to three
periods.
The first period was spent as an articled pupil in a practice founded just before the Arts and Crafts period, from which he learned invaluable lessons in traditional style and proportion. The second period was spent with a specialist housing practice, responsible for more than 11% of UK housing during the 1970s. Sophisticated techniques were used, predating the methodologies of computers and established CAD practice. Sites were huge by today's standards, demanding extreme financial control by eliminating redundant structure, minimizing waste and maximizing the use of space. The third period was characterized by a series of technical tasks involving research, innovation and novel procedures, several in the context of huge industrial establishments, including some of the largest buildings in Europe (top picture, right; the 95,000m2 Birmingham letter and parcel sorting office now better known as the Mail Box retail development). The new focus on energy and environmental issues were influential from then to the present day, which brought close contact with the building research community in which he is known by some as an 'intuitive designer'. It should therefore come as no surprise that present work may vary from designing ceramic floor surfaces to developing computerized compliance test procedures and energy design advice.Cooper Research was founded in 1982. In addition, Chris Cooper with two other principal architects founded SIGMA in 2000. |
Projects have included prototype development and testing (internal wall linings): HSE restraint of high level falling glass: design of bespoke roof gutter profiles, flow rates, pipe capacities for roofing contractors: various forms of energy consultancy. Any new challenge is treated with enthusiasm but conducted within the parameters of caution and testing appropriate to research and development work.
Cooper Research was a project partner in the DETR funded PI Focus 2000 research programme and Chris Cooper is an accepted authority on the performance of highly glazed buildings. We are therefore at the forefront of developments in this most complex market sector with regard to statutory compliance testing.
Compliance Test Calculations for Conservatories and other highly glazed hybrid buildings.
Clients include most major bespoke conservatory manufacturers, architects, contractors and building owners. The CON-TEST compliance test report has been developed over the last twelve years in response to an accelerating demand. Cooper Research was encouraged in its development by BRE ScotLab, using a modified version of BREDEM but with modifications and safeguards. Attributes peculiar to conservatories and atypical of dwellings are dealt with using internal research material. It is generally accepted as a robust product with a clear data trail from raw data to the final calculation set.
Reports have been accepted, and indeed recommended, by building control offices all over England and Wales, including many London boroughs. Modified reports have also been accepted in Scotland.
CON-TEST will continue to be developed as information is released or confidentiality allows. The consultation documents for changes to Part L in 2005 are currently under examination and will be applied to a prospective amendment to CON-TEST.
CON-TEST presently includes a summary, supporting calculations, raw data set, CAD schematic and U-value calculations. Glazing is rigorously treated using actual site specific fame factors and manufacturer's product values. These are applied to an incident radiation value regressed from published tables incorporated in the SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure).
The preferred procedure is to receive DWG format drawings by e-mail. After processing the report is compiled using Adobe Acrobat and e-mailed back to the client. However, hard copy drawings and printed and bound reports are still available.
For
details e-mail cjc@coo-res.co.uk
Cooper Research
Juniper
Old Acre Lane
Brocton
STAFFORD
ST17 0TW
UK
or
telephone +44 (0)1785 665315
In the past many projects were for industrial clients such as Unilever, Bowater Corporation and the Post Office. Most of these were of a technical nature, involving for example facilities management techniques or investigating buildings damaged by hazardous processes.
More recently the focus has been very much on one-off houses and extensions, because of the opportunities to demonstrate good design. The house at Brocton (pictured right centre) for Gill and Chris Cooper was built as a shell in 2002 and is being completed by the owners. Apart from being an exciting place to live (and within walking distance of Brocton Hall golf club) it is intended as a demonstration project. Style and proportion and value are not expensive. The house is constructed traditionally with largely standard materials (beam and block floors, normal hot rolled steel sections, dry lining, uPVC windows, balustrades and handrail components, bespoke internal doors made from standard frames and designed MDF panels.
The result is extremely photogenic, makes use of solar gains through apertures in all four directions, and is freely ventilated in summer by natural buoyancy (stack effect). The house is inverted due to the attractive site, views to the rear, skyline to the front, and this arrangement provides an improved temperature regime with cooler bedrooms and warmer living spaces.
The previous home was Solar Cottage in Middleton which was adopted by the then Department of Energy through their agents ETSU at Harwell and research contractor Databuild of Birmingham. The house (below) has been published in various documents including the published EPA (energy performance assessment programme for which it was a pilot).
Publications:
Passive Solar Design Support in England and Wales, C J Cooper, 3rd European Conference on Architecture May 1993, Palazzo di Congressi, Florence
ISBN 0-9521452-1-9
The 'Cooper House' in ‘Solar Energy and Housing Design’ by Professor Simos Yannas, Architectural Association, London.
ISBN 1 870890 45 0 (two volume set).
