36 | FOCUS: ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRUCTION | CAMPUS SERVICES
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fresh criteria which acknowledges their merits. According to Rupert Cook, a Director from architectural practice Architecture PLB and joint convenor of the RIBA’s Higher Education Design Quality Forum, some HEIs are eschewing BREEAM due to cost, and policy decisions to prioritise energy performance and minimise carbon outputs. As an alternative, he notes the gradual take-up of Passivhaus, a ‘fabric fi rst’ standard, which seeks to reduce requirements for space heating and cooling, whilst ensuring air quality and comfort, at educators including Leicester and UEA. Another alternative, suitable for refurbishments, is SKA – an assessment administered by the
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), which is growing in popularity but, since it was originally developed to validate offi ce and retail spaces, may require some adaptation to fully meet HE’s needs. A hitherto unprecedented, and possibly game-changing standard Cook would like to see enter the HE marketplace is the Living Future Institute’s ‘Living Building Challenge’. “The purpose of the challenge is straightforward
– it defi nes the most advanced measure of sustainability possible in the built environment today, and acts to diminish the gap between current limits and ideal solutions, rather than designing a building then adding things on to enhance them,” says Cook. “Projects that achieve this performance level can claim to be the ‘greenest’ anywhere, serving as role models for others that follow.” Two contemporary projects Cook believes exemplify the sector’s commitment to this ethos are the University of Leicester's new Centre for Medicine – which meets Passivhais criteria, as does the UEA’s Enterprise Centre, which will use local, bio-renewable materials, such as thatch cladding, in its architecture. Refl ecting that some 40% of the UK’s university
estate dates from the sixties and seventies, Cook considers it important that more knowledge about refurbishments is shared via organisations such as the Higher Education Design Quality Forum
OPPORTUNITIES IN NEW MATERIALS
Chris Brookman, owner of Back to Earth, a supplier of sustainable construction systems, argues that opportunities remain to explore the effectiveness of several environmentally friendly materials in HE contexts. Two products he suggests could
be valuable to HEIs – but have not yet is expensive, but it has lots of unique properties that make it useful. By using
it in combination with a control layer, you can insulate to whatever depth you require, and it works in situations Universities often have historic buildings facades, but must upgrade internally.” Phase change materials, incorporated
within clayboard are, says Brookman, a in spaces which incur rapid internal heat gains, such as those caused by
students or computers. “These products work by using a micro-encapsulated wax bead, in emulsion form. When it reaches around 24 degrees, the beads melt and absorb a huge amount of energy which prevents a room from overheating. If the thermal mass of a to use air conditioning, these products are great, and can remove excess heat overnight through simple insulation”. The product was recently used in a
(HEDQF) – and that perhaps new awards could be devised specifi cally for retrofi t scenarios, to encourage best practice. Indeed, the most common environmental projects endorsed by HEFCE’s revolving green fund, established to provide recoverable grants to HEIs, includes several such ventures, typically involving deployment of LED lighting and pipework insulation. To ensure their relevance and legacy, Shaw
argues that a more comprehensive approach to design is crucial at policy level. “The lowest cost (per square metre) is too often being used as a determining factor for overall build price, and hence the area of building to be delivered, rather than long-term value,” he says. Instead, proposes the architect, “We should be designing buildings that are to last longer, be lower in energy use and are able to be converted or adapted to several diff erent uses. But this will not achieve the lowest cost. This approach requires strategic and long-term perspectives to be considered at the commissioning stage.” UB
TOP AND ABOVE: Rupert Cook, Director at PLB and members
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