HE_EPI

Buildings - resources

Recent examples of sector specific sustainable buildings include:

Newcastle – Devonshire Building - click here
Gloucestershire – Oxstalls campus - click here

There are many other examples including (case study material from the Building Services Journal):

University of Coventry - Lanchester Learning resource centre

University of Newcastle - Devonshire Building

Royal Veterinary College - Learning resource centre

Plymouth College - an LRC/Support building

University of Birmingham - Orchard learning resource centre

University of Portsmouth - Portland Building - a teaching/support Building

Two education sector Construction Excellence case studies make excellent reading on successful sustainable build projects:

University of East London – click here

Drumglass High School – click here

HEPS – Sustainable Construction and the HE Sector – consultation document addressed how best to promote sustainable construction in the UK higher education sector.

Building Research Establishment - BRE is the UK's leading centre of expertise on buildings, construction, energy, environment and fire. BRE have developed several pieces of software to assist sustainable design including:

BREEAM – BRE’s Environmental Assessment Method

ENVEST is a BRE software tool that simplifies the otherwise very complex process of designing environmentally friendly buildings.

See the 2003 winner of the RIBA Journal Sustainability Award, an award given in recognition of the importance of sustainability in architecture today - 2003 winner

CIBSE/ASHRAE Conference (Sept 2003) Building Sustainability, Value & Profit lists papers given at the conference, many of which are available to download.

Case studies of green development in America can be seen here.

The Action Energy publications library has numerous case studies (listed below) with a sustainable construction focus.

The benefits of including energy efficiency early in the design stage - Anglia Polytechnic University (GPCS334)

The Case Study describes the fast-track design and construction of Anglia Polytechnics University's new learning resource centre (LRC) containing a library, a media department, seminar and study rooms, offices and catering facilities. The building, featuring natural ventilation, is based around two atria at the top of which are two calico sails that attenuate glare and solar gain and provide an attractive diffuse natural light.
The Elizabeth Fry Building, University of East Anglia - feedback for designers and clients (NPCS106)

Mechanical ventilation and high utilisation of a building’s thermal mass can achieve occupant comfort and eliminate air-conditioning. This Report for designers and clients shows what was achieved by the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the construction of the Elizabeth Fry Building where energy consumption is half that for a conventional building.

Cost-effective ventilation and cooling in new university buildings - University of Lincolnshire and Humberside (GPCS396)

The Lincoln campus of the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside represents one of the most recent university developments within the UK. The first phase of the £18 million project was opened in October 1996.The designs proposed were highly innovative, utilising chilled beams, with largely free cooling, and desiccant cooling. Although these may have been viewed as risky relative to traditional approaches, the University’s confidence was subsequently vindicated by operating experience. The same design approach was used two years later for the Learning Resources Centre, which incorporates two professional-standard television studios.

Energy efficiency in further and higher education - cost-effective low energy buildings (ECG054)

The Guide provides college and university estates personnel with a method for assessing energy usage and costs in a range of academic and residential building types. Contents include 'Realising the potential', 'Factors influencing performance', and 'Assessing performance'

Energy efficient design of new buildings and extensions - for schools and colleges (GPG173)

This Guide describes the values of an integrated design approach to energy efficient school and college buildings. It addresses design issues that are relevant to buildings for educational purposes, in particular the need for accommodation suitable for many differing activities, and their intermittent use during the year. Emphasis is given to the importance of having a multi-disciplinary design team which functions for the duration of the building project, from inception to handover. Guidance is given on the site plan and form and construction methods, as well as the building fabric and services.

The Edinburgh Gate Building, Harlow - feedback for designers and clients (NPCS124)

The Edinburgh Gate Building in Harlow, Essex, is the British headquarters of Pearson Education, a publishing company that is part of the Pearson Group. The building was commissioned in the early 1990s to accommodate 1000 occupants. In their brief the company specified that the new building should be environmentally friendly, including limiting the use of fossil fuels and minimising carbon emissions. They also specified that the building should be flexible to enable all or part of the building to be sub-let.

Developing and Managing Sustainable Offices - Demonstrating that sustainable offices are commercially viable (GPCS405)

Organisations such as Land Securities, Prudential, Grosvenor, BAA and Vodafone have demonstrated that energy efficient offices are commercially viable. The publication gives exemplars of individual offices and portfolio management under ‘steps to sustainable success’ in property

Looking for a new investment angle? A developer's guide to environmentally smart buildings (GPG258)

Environmentally smart building make intelligent use of resources, including energy and water, resulting in energy-efficient and environmentally conscious buildings, minimising the impact on the environment. This Guide outlines the benefits for developers, investors and occupiers, and includes case studies of businesses in new and refurbished environmentally smart buildings.

Norton Park Building, Edinburgh - feedback for designers and clients (NPCS127)

Norton Park Building is a red sandstone Grade II listed former Board School in an inner city location of Edinburgh. Renovation and conversion of the building was managed by the Albion Trust, who commissioned architects (Burnett Pollock Associates) to produce the design for the redevelopment, which was to provide office space for a number of voluntary organisations and embody high environmental standards.

Passive solar design - Looe Junior and Infant School (GIL033)

In pursuit of Cornwall County Council’s desire to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels, the architects decided that significant energy savings could be achieved without substantially increasing capital costs. Passive solar features were introduced, optimising solar gain by combining direct and indirect solar heating while minimising potential heat losses through the fabric.

A designer's guide to the options for ventilation and cooling (GPG291)

The application of techniques for reducing the dependency of buildings on air-conditioning mean that many buildings can take advantage of natural and passive ventilation, mixed-mode operation and low-energy cooling systems.

A Performance Specification for the Energy Efficient Office of the Future (GIR030)

This document summarises the consensus view of a key group of companies involved with the procurement and design of office buildings. It is a framework document (not a design guide) that informs clients, procurers and designers of the issues to consider when specifying an environmentally friendly office of the future.

Building management systems in further and higher education (GPG246)

Building management systems are particularly appropriate to the varied occupancy patterns of students and staff within FHE establishments, where they can provide energy cost savings of 10-20% and reduced CO2 emissions. BMSs monitor and control comfort conditions from a single point, while reducing manpower requirements and providing greater comfort for occupants. Written for university estates and finance managers, this Guide gives basic guidance on using BMSs and illustrates this through four case studies.

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