review: higher education estates forum
Forum connects on many levels
Professionals and industry leaders came together in March to discuss the operational, design and construction opportunities within the higher education sector. Suzanne Swaysland reports
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HE Higher Education Estates (hee)
Forum brought together contractors, project managers,
architects and senior level professionals with suppliers and manufacturers to discuss the development of the higher education estate and to source solutions for the challenges they face. The forum also explored the social impact the built environment has on students in terms of health and well-being, and how this approach is leading concepts when developing projects. Delegates had the opportunity to
network and conduct one-to-one meetings where they were able to discuss the latest innovations and industry trends that the higher education sector is experiencing. The seminars also gave attendees the chance to view presentations on some of the latest projects happening in universities in the UK and how these projects will impact on the future of higher education. A number of presentations at the forum
discussed the impact of urban design on our health, with Dr Caroline Paradise, Associate Director at Atkins, indicating in her research that “sustainable design is human-needs based.” One of these key needs is a connection to nature, giving designers the obligation to create greener, cleaner spaces that have been proven to be beneficial to both our physical and mental wellbeing. Paradise demonstrated that this type of design, which includes exposure to natural light and better air quality, leads to increased performance in the workplace and lower levels of absenteeism. This sentiment is at the heart of
Lancaster University’s latest design plans, 20 highereducationestates
with Vicki Mathews and Jason Homan, Development Managers at Lancaster University, explaining that “better well- being produces better learning outcomes.” Lancaster University is currently developing a Health Innovation Campus (HIC), which is located beside the University's Bailrigg campus, and is due for completion in 2019, and which “aims to drive advances in technologies, products and ways of working to improve health and healthcare”. It’s intended that this will improve the quality of life for both students and local residents, and also benefit the local area economically. The project was developed as a result of student feedback and will not only feature more physical space for students to engage with the outdoors, but also more innovative study spaces. The impact of social spaces on wellbeing is being taken into consideration, so Lancaster is developing technology-rich study spaces rather than bars in order to highlight the importance of a community-based living/working experience. This will greatly benefit the students’ performance academically and also help them to manage better socially in what is for many of them, a new and daunting experience. University of Northampton Waterside
Campus also has similar views in terms of how the environment affects well-being. They teamed up with local businesses to improve local facilities, for example creating a new fitness centre. Their belief is to create new “future proof” spaces, such as creating more shared workspaces and abolishing the idea of a traditional office to create a more learning-focussed environment. A current trend in construction within
higher education estates is prefabricated student accommodation. Rory Bergin, Partner in Sustainable Futures at HTA
Design, discussed how the offsite construction and prefabrication of student accommodation is not only more cost effective, but also better for the environment, leading to the conclusion that sustainability and wellbeing are closely linked. Prefabricated student accommodation is also more reliable in terms of finished quality and certainty of delivery, enabling projects to be completed in a very short time period.
Nick Cullen, Head of Research and
Development at Hoare Lea, added in his discussion that prefabrication is the future of construction and that technology is pioneering the evolution towards this mode of production. This approach to creating new buildings has the added advantage that they can be designed and tested offsite before installation, leading to better standardisation. While this method of construction is still being developed and improved in the higher education sector, it will inevitably lead to more efficient and sustainable designs that will cut capital costs considerably. Yet there are some key aspects in
design that cannot be ignored. Paul Holt, at Manchester Metropolitan University believes that we must understand the needs of the students in order to get these projects right. His approach to
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