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building contractors. In the refurbished buildings these included: • Additional roof insulation, exceeding building regulation standard, laid over the existing roofs prior to re- felting;


• Additional wall insulation; • Energy efficient lighting (daylight sensing, absence detection and presence detection);


• New main switch panels for monitoring energy;


• Air source heat pumps for cooling and heating, distributing surplus heat from cooling operations and vice versa. This has resulted in energy savings of up to 30% over conventional systems;


• Individual heating/cooling control in each teaching room, and variable air volume to each teaching room controlled by CO2


monitoring;


• Installation of double-glazing to building elevations facing noisy external sound sources;


• Percussion taps to all sinks and systemisers to urinals, and no paper towels in the washrooms – Dyson hand-dryers are now used throughout the University.


In the new building to be constructed,


The Gateway, the energy-saving measures included: • Extensive building metering to allow careful monitoring of energy consumption linked to the University’s computerised Building Management System;


• Existing main plantroom stripped out and new, energy-efficient boilers, pumps and controls installed;


• Building mass of exposed concrete used as thermal heat sink to maximise night cooling with heat absorbed during the day and cooled at night;


• Additional wall and roof insulation, exceeding building regulation requirements;


• The building is highly sealed (the air leakage rate achieved was 3.86 m3


/h.m2 @ 50 pa);


• Double-glazed windows with solar reflective material;


• Heat/cooling recovery via hygroscopic thermal wheels;


• Air quality sensors to control the


speed and vary the air volume of the ventilation systems;


• Large north facing windows to maximise daylight penetration into the building, and the creation of routes for either direct or borrowed sunlight to enter each space;


• Low-flow rate shower heads and urinal flush controls linked to presence detectors resulting in very close control of water usage;


• Specialist structural and acoustic treatment to enable a unique mix of facilities which would normally be contained in separate buildings. For example:


• Lecture theatre placed immediately below the multi-purpose events hall;


• Three floors of library placed immediately above the multi- purpose events hall, requiring specialist, structural, reinforced beams to clear 18m width spans;


• Music recording studios placed above drama studios and below teaching rooms.


So what are the achievements of this extensive project? According to Ian Hunter: “Campus consolidation has enabled Bucks New University to invest in its estate and provide safe, robust, modern and award-winning facilities for our students and employees. The University estate is now highly sustainable after undertaking and successfully completing the project, and over 92% of its buildings are now in excellent or very good condition.”


When asked about the University’s physical footprint, Ian says: “The total non-residential estate of Bucks New University was reduced from 55,693m2 45,188m2


area reduction of 10,505m2 on a total property cost of £80/m2


to


– equating to a gross internal . This, based ,


equates to an annual saving of over £840,000, which is even more significant when one considers that the work was carried out during a period when fuel costs for non-residential accommodation have risen from £447,000 in 2005/6 to £744,000 for the financial year 2008/9 – a rise of 40%. “Overall, the University reduced its carbon emissions across its estate by 34% from 2005/6 to 2010/11, and the reduction achieved over the last three years of this was certified by the Carbon Trust,” he added.


It is worth noting that since the new facilities have been under development, the University has achieved some of the highest percentage increases in student applications at a UK university for its full-


time undergraduate courses. Furthermore, The Gateway has won a 2010 Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) award for architectural excellence, an accolade reserved for buildings which have high architectural standards and make a substantial contribution to the local environment. Looking forward, the ‘green’ activity does not stop here for Bucks New University. “We are now working hard to change the culture of our students and staff, to encourage them to become more energy aware and have a number of initiatives planned to help this,” continues Ian. “We are also reviewing some of our suppliers, to see where more energy savings can be made within our supply chain over time. We appreciate that this is no short-term fix, and we are focused on improving our environment over the longer term in order to progress towards a sustainable, more energy-efficient future.” Since the completion of campus consolidation in September 2009, Bucks New University has gone on to publish a formal sustainability policy, establish a new Sustainability Committee, and draft a carbon management implementation plan. It has also formed a Carbon Reduction Working Group and Waste Management Working Group, the members of which are employees and students from across the University. In addition, Bucks New University students have established the Green Society with the aim of creating awareness of green issues across the University. According to Liza Ricciardi, Chair of the Green Society: “Currently there are plans to become involved with the local woodland service on conservation projects and to help with the new Wycombe Environmental Centre. In 2012 we are keen to try out moss graffiti and other gardening activities, and get involved with campaigns such as the Dogwood Initiative and the Textile Recycling Association. “Our future plans are to get involved with larger green organisations, participate in campaigns around the UK and continue to take steps to reduce our carbon emissions. The Society members have also completed energy champion training with the United Sustainable Energy Agency.”


Ian Hunter concludes: “Campus consolidation and redevelopment has been of great benefit to Bucks, and the University is well on its way to achieving its target to reduce CO2


emissions by 50% by


2020 (based on the 2005 baseline emissions).”


Good luck Bucks New University! www.bucks.ac.uk


PUBLIC SECTOR SUSTAINABILITY • VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1 23


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