Canolfan Hyddgen

The people of the Dyfi Valley are users of one of the most eco-friendly public sector buildings to be built in the UK.  Canolfan Hyddgen, in Machynlleth, houses a training and education centre and the Council's Customer Service Point (CSP) and has been built to BREEAM Excellent Standard.

The £1.2m building, situated on the Ysgol Bro Ddyfi campus has been co-funded by the Wales Assembly Government's Pathfinder programme and Powys County Council. Former First Minister Rhodri Morgan officially opened the building on March 26th, 2009.

Canolfan Hyddgen houses four modern training suites, which allow for the delivery of a wide range of courses to local people over the age of 16,  free internet access, the reception for Ysgol Bro Ddyfi as well as the Council's CSP.  The building also houses a small amount of office accomodation as well as a confidential interview room and staff facilities.

Project managed by the council's Property & Design Services and designed by Machynlleth-based architects JPW Construction, the building is the first public sector building in the UK to be certified by the Passivhaus Institute. Passivhaus principles - high levels of insulation, solar gain and efficient heat recovery systems  ensure low levels of energy usage – are used more commonly in continental Europe.

The building has also been awarded BREEAM Excellent standard – a UK standard aimed at promoting sustainable development which looks at a wide variety of issues, including the environmental impact of the materials used, the insulation levels and even issues such as distance from public transport.  This will be the first time in the UK that both standards have been applied simultaneously. The building was constructed by Garthmyl based builders C Sneade Ltd.

Training and education at the site is provided by a range of agencies - the Council's Powys Training arm, Ysgol Bro Ddyfi as well as a range of other education providers (such as Coleg Powys).

The CSP (open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays only) allows local people to pay their council bills by credit or debit card, purchase refuse bags or pick up their recycling bags and gain access to a range of Council services.

Canolfan Hyddgen is designed to provide an environment where a variety of PC-based learning can be undertaken - not just in IT skills but in others too, such as language courses. All PC equipment installed in the building has been chosen for its low energy rating and the building also has a number of interactive whiteboards.