Buildings Working
All teachers want is
a simple switch, not a
mind-boggling array of
fancy controls
– Valerie Bragg
Burro Happold, believes the answer to low-carbon
schools lies in the ‘mean, lean, green’ design process:
“The key isn’t how you apply renewable energy, the key
to this is thinking about the buildings, the systems –
that’s what’s going to yield big energy savings.”
However, how new school buildings are funded
is another problem with which the industry has to
grapple. Currently there are three budgets involved:
simple switch, not a mindboggling array of fancy
Above and left: capital, which traditionally pays for the building works;
controls. “The people who work in the building don’t
St Christopher’s School in
revenue, which pays for a building’s running costs; and
understand it and so don’t use it as well as they might.
Letchworth Garden City, UK,
carbon, which is intended to cap carbon emissions.
which is seen as one of the
One of your tasks is to try to transform the teachers and
success stories of new builds
But Paul Eslinger, regional director at consultancy
what the teachers want to do,” she says. White Young Green, believes we have to start making the
According to Bragg, teachers want short, wide budgeting system more flexible to account for how new
corridors with no dead-ends, windows they can open, technologies should help to reduce future running costs.
no floor boxes, well-positioned power points and no “Our largest challenge is looking beyond today’s
fancy controls that don’t work. “You need to understand capital budget and finding a mechanism that allows
how a school is going to work before you design a revenue budgets to be considered in the development
building. All schools are not the same. Wireless is of a school. Until this issue is solved we are paying
going to transform the layout of teaching rooms. You
Schools trial
lip service to carbon budgeting in the development of
need to think about today’s student.” Competencies schools. It is no good being able to make a saving and
When surveyed about their school environments, explained then not being able to fund it.”
87 per cent of teachers said it influenced their pupils’ But one of the biggest problems facing all projects
Independent consultant
behaviour. Bragg believes today’s schools need to be
Colin Ashford is helping
is cutting costs – often labelled ‘value engineering’.
designed much like universities, with lecture theatres to develop a range of “Value engineering very often takes away all the good
and cafe-style spaces with bean bags instead of chairs.
‘competencies’ for
things and leaves you with a building that perhaps
professionals which will
Ian Taylor of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios says
be trialled on the Scottish
doesn’t work as well as it should,” Eslinger argues.
that more research into how natural light can improve Government’s school So what else can be done to improve design? Industry
learning outcomes could help inform better school
rebuild and refurbish
experts seem to agree that more use of POE is essential.
programme in 2009.
design. The amount of CO2 produced by each pupil Group facilities manager training during the handover
per year has also been woefully underestimated, he
The ‘competencies’ have
of a building is also vital to ensure there are plenty of staff
five stages, linked to
insists, adding that he personally questions the benefits
the RIBA ‘Plan of Work’
who know how to run their building most effectively. It
of having on-site renewables at schools when three / OGC Procurement has even been suggested that Ofsted, the school inspection
times as much energy could be generated by a wind
guide 03
body, should check on how buildings are run after
turbine in a remote location, for example. The five stages are: client handover.
The amount of technology being thrown at new
requirements; design;
But most of all, urge some experts in the field, design
construction; operation;
builds to make them zero carbon or low energy may
contracts
a school around the people who will eventually be using
also be open to question. “We’ve got to look at the it, because regulations alone are never enough. l
Under the stages are 26
passive performance – we’ve got to get the building’s
competencies in total
fabric to do the work, not the gizmos,” Taylor adds. and, under these, 160
Mike Entwisle, associate director of consultancy
‘elements’ that define
skills and experience
requirements
The ‘client requirements’
It is no good being
stage, for example,
has the following
able to make a competencies:
saving and then
functional definition of
the building; corporate
not being able to
social responsibility/
sustainability; audit;
fund it
planning; client values;
productive workplace.
– Paul Eslinger
www.cibsejournal.com March 2009 CIBSE Journal 29
CIBSEmar09 pp26-29 schools.indd 29 5/3/09 14:11:42
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