hee news


HEDQF conference places design at the heart of wellbeing in HE


THE theme at the recent annual conference of The Higher Education Design Quality Forum (HEDQF) was that designing for wellbeing is currently among the biggest issues in the university sector. Julian Robinson, Chairman of HEDQF


and Director of Estates, London School of Economics, said, “An increasing body of evidence indicates that design for the built environment impacts on our mental health and wellbeing.


Jim MacDonald, Chief Executive of


Architecture and Design Scotland, said: “Wellbeing and kindness have become integral to the Scottish public discourse. The recent revision of Scotland’s national performance framework and set of national outcomes as a means to frame public policy was made specifically to include the ideal of overall wellbeing as a purpose of government.


“While the benefits of well-designed


environments has long been understood, what is new is the grasping and embracing of that recognition by policymakers and


the seeking to join up the different arms of government in order to deliver those benefits through investment that will help shape the country.”


Having been closely involved in the design of a new student services building for nearby 1 George Square, Karen Pickering of Page\Park highlighted five themes that her experience has suggested students seek from university buildings: 1. Green spaces; 2. Heritage – there is a misconception that students covet shiny new buildings, she said. Edinburgh is renowned for its heritage and students appreciate this as much as appropriate contemporary design – something she speculated could be


attributed to the ‘Harry Potter’ effect. 3. Studying is the new drinking. A variety of different areas for study are more important than student bars. 4. Self- esteem. Students have great pride in their university and are obsessed with selfies, leading Ms Pickering to suggest that it is the role of architects to create attractive backdrops to those selfies which are sent all over the world. 5. Wellbeing – today’s students study, talk and share pressure. This demand for students to talk and share pressures has led to a doubling of the existing space for the counselling department in the Wellbeing Centre for Edinburgh University she is presently designing.


First HE students recruited as ambassadors for Cardiff Innovation Campus project


BOUYGUES UK, the construction company building Cardiff University’s cutting-edge Innovation Campus, has welcomed its first higher education Ambassadors on site. Five student volunteers from diverse


backgrounds and areas of academic study at Cardiff University have been recruited to write, blog and share social media posts about their exclusive insights into the build on the city centre site. Bouygues UK has worked with student Ambassadors in partnership with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) on projects at schools in Margam, Port Talbot and Penarth, but this is the first time Bouygues UK is partnering with students at a higher education establishment to help with community communication.


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Three of the new student Ambassadors have visited the site to see how Bouygues UK and Cardiff University are working together to transform a former disused rail yard into a state-of-the-art campus for high-tech job creation and student start- ups, and to create further expertise in compound semi-conductors. Nick Toulson, Bouygues UK CSR manager for Cardiff Innovation Campus, said: “It is so encouraging that we have students from such diverse courses as Medicine, Urban Planning and Development and Civil Engineering. “The Ambassadors will not only get to see how the site is developing from the inside, but they will also gain access to Bouygues UK’s expertise in design, construction management, health and safety and quality.”


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