highereducationestates 19 SO many of the ills in this country can be linked to our economy’s sickly growth record. If its lamentable productivity rates could improve, the UK would become far more competitive internationally and our standard of living, which has stagnated since the global financial crisis of 2007-8, would start catching up with that enjoyed by most other modern industrial economies. One way to improve our economic competitiveness, and to be fair the Government has recognised this, is to strengthen links between universities’ science and technology departments and the business world. In 2014 it created a new incubating mechanism call University Enterprise Zones (UEZs), which are specific geographical areas where universities and business work together to increase local growth and innovation. The zones, of which there are now 20, encourage universities to strengthen their roles as strategic partners in local growth to engage with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), building on existing capabilities and partnerships. The aim is to grow and stimulate small local businesses in their home locations to interact with universities and to innovate. Since their launch, UEZs have proved a great success, delivering strong economic and social benefits. UEZ’s created in 2019 have generated £4.50 from every £1 of government investment. On top of their direct economic output, UEZs create thousands of jobs and opportunities, boosting regeneration. For example, the University of the West of England’s Future Space SME added £16.9 million to the local economy, while Falmouth University’s venture studio, Launchpad leveraged £21 million. Earlier this year, Universities UK called on the Government to establish a UEZ in every university in the UK, and drive forward the growth of SMEs and as a result, promote the nation’s economic recovery. The call was partly answered in the Spring Budget, when the Government relaunched its Investment Zones programme to catalyse 12 growth clusters across the UK, including four across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each cluster will drive growth in key future sectors and bring investment to the local area. Each English Investment Zone will have access to interventions worth £80 million over five years, including tax reliefs and grant funding. It is now up to all of Britain’s universities to make the most of the new opportunities offered by the investment zones. With the value of certain ‘low-performing’ universities under fierce scrutiny, this is an important moment for the sector. Editor Andrew Pring Sales director Julian Walter Production Nicola Cann Design Sandra Cid Managing director Toby Filby The publishers do not necessarily agree with views expressed by contributors and cannot accept responsibility for claims made by manufacturers and authors, nor do they accept any responsibility for any errors in the subject matter of this publication. Publishers Stable Publishing Limited, SBC House, Restmor Way, Wallington, Surrey SM6 7AH, England. t. 020 8288 1080 f. 020 8288 1099 e. [email protected] leader and content Time for universities to show enterprise Andrew Pring Editor [email protected] inside this issue J/Aug 2023 23 The sticky campus How to design post-Covid campuses capable of attracting and retaining students and staff. 29 Security and access controls The University of St Andrews has installed a compliant access control solution as part of the refurbishment of its Younger Hall. 31 Roofing and flexible spaces Imperial College London has a new roof covering for the Wolfson Education Centre. And flexible spaces have been created in Strathclyde University’s £60 million new Learning & Teaching Building. 32 Data centre maintenance The importance of overhauling data centres as part of the drive to meet carbon emissions targets. 29 32
UK’s newest university opens in Peterborough THE UK’s newest university, ARU Peterborough with its signature building, University House, has opened as part of a project delivered through a unique partnership between the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority, Peterborough City Council (PCC) and Anglia Ruskin University (ARU). The project was recently awarded the AUDE innovation of the year. Designed by Cambridge-based and education specialist architects, MCW, as part of a MACE-led multi-disciplinary team, the 5,300 sqm building launched as Phase 1 of the development in September 2022, welcoming its first students for the start of the academic year. As planned, University House was completed in less than two years, despite the supply-chain and labour challenges brought by COVID. It was recognised that the site had to represent a civic asset for the city – an open-access campus created specifically to allow the community to engage with and be inspired by the campus and the university. Designed to encourage access by communities in a city where levels of participation in higher education are below national averages, and specifically focused on providing skills needed in the local economy, it is hoped that the ARU Peterborough expansion will meet the economic needs of the region. Peterborough is currently ranked in the bottom 10% in the UK for skills levels, something ARU Peterborough aims to help change. Sitting on the site of a former car park, University House, with its distinctive cantilevered solar veil and terrace views onto the city, signals a new chapter for Peterborough. The campus’ first building was designed to directly reflect the principal values of the institution – open access for the community, visibility of learning and cross disciplinary collaborative working in a building that is accessible, contemporary, welcoming and sustainable. The campus has been designed to be publicly accessible as part of a wider approach by MCW that will offer links to the Embankment and the River Nene and which forms part of the context for the campus’ future growth. Lien Geens, Associate, MCW, said: “Working collaboratively with clients and stakeholders who value a strong community and sustainability ethos to design buildings and landscapes that will transform lives is some of the most rewarding work we do. There is a buzz of excitement when we see the project is brought to life by the people it is designed to support. And this is just stage one!” Professor Ross Renton, Principal of ARU Peterborough said: “University House, our new home, is a stunning first building, combining cutting-edge facilities with a wonderful, welcoming atmosphere. We’re delighted to be working with MCW on the next stages of ARU Peterborough’s development.” TWO strikingly designed, high-quality student residences opened recently in Manchester and London. Developed by Alumno, each provides much-needed accommodation for students in both areas, freeing up housing for local residents. The London development, Bermondsey Spa, was designed by Greenaway Architects, whose work was singled out for particular praise by Southward Council, and built by HG construction. It provides fully integrated facilities for 143 students, featuring highquality rooms with shared amenities, including a basement cinema lounge, study room and community area. The other building is the nine-storey Church Inn building in Manchester and was designed by Carson & Partners and built by GMI Construction Group. Located close to major arterial road The Mancunian Way, it features 62 studio apartments, along with a communal area, rooftop terrace, office and storage space for 16 bikes. High-quality student homes delivered by Alumno 20 highereducationestates News
New medical building opens at Worcester Uni ANEW state-of-the-art teaching centre for health and medical students has opened its doors at the University of Worcester. Named after Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, the first woman to qualify as a physician and surgeon in the UK, the building provides outstanding facilities for the University’s health students as well as becoming the home of the University’s new Three Counties Medical School, which will welcome its first cohort of students this September. Formerly home to the Worcester News and Berrows Journal, the iconic building has undergone a complete transformation over the past 12 months, from drab concrete to a beautiful golden colour which restores its elegant lines. Global multi-disciplinary design practice BDP’s civil and structural engineering teams worked on the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Building, with BDP’s landscape architects responsible for the campus masterplan and public realm, which includes a ‘wellness trail’ that will form part of the campus in the future. Seventy per cent of the embodied carbon of the new health and medical school structure is from pre-existing components from the original printing house. Effective reuse of the existing foundations and frame has secured significant carbon savings when compared to the potential impact a new build structure would have had. In keeping with the University’s commitment to sustainability, the refurbishment has been completed to outstanding environmental specifications, achieving a Gold SKA environmental rating from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. The architects on the project were Glancy Nicholls Architects (GNA) and the M&E designers were CPW. The university’s complete construction partner was Stepnell. AMAJOR expansion delivered by Henry Brothers Construction at Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park has achieved Passivhaus Classic accreditation, widely regarded as the most challenging energy efficiency and comfort standards in the world. The first Passivhaus development on the University campus, SportPark Pavilion 4 is the latest development on a site that houses the UK’s highest concentration of sports organisations. The facility presents sports organisations with the unique opportunity to secure environmentally future-proof accommodation, tailored to their needs. Occupants can reduce their carbon footprint thanks to triple glazed windows that can be opened, an enhanced thermal efficient airtight building fabric, external solar shading and a highly efficient heat and ventilation system. Going beyond Passivhaus requirements, the University chose to fit SportPark Pavilion 4’s entire roof with solar panels, to further reduce its energy demand. Martin Channell, Assistant Director of Capital Projects and Programme Management at Loughborough University said: “When SportPark was completed in 2009, it achieved BREEAM Excellent which put it in the top 10% of environmentally rated non-domestic buildings. Pavilion 4’s Passivhaus accreditation sets the benchmark for quality and low energy building efficiency across the University estate to achieve our zero-carbon agenda for 2050.” SportPark will be a unique living lab that enhances the University’s cuttingedge building energy research. Joel Callow, Director of Beyond Carbon Associates said: “The construction team has worked closely with Loughborough’s researchers to ensure highly detailed measurement of the performance of the building over the coming years.” SportPark Pavilion 4 is delivered by the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) as part of the government’s Getting Building Fund. Funds were designated for investment in local, shovel-ready infrastructure projects to stimulate jobs and support economic recovery across the country. The LLEP was allocated £20m, supporting the SportPark expansion with £6m. Further funding support has been provided by Loughborough Town Deal. Loughborough’s £9m Sportpark built to Passivhaus standards highereducationestates 21 News
PrefectControls.com MISSION? CONTROL Central control Local control * Savings are dependent on current control methods, infrastructure, location and profiles adopted. In accommodation where the room occupant is not directly responsible for paying the heating bills, it is difficult to control how much energy they are using. Our purpose is to enable Energy and Accommodation Managers to take control of energy use, while ensuring rooms remain comfortable. CENTRAL CONTROL All ecostat2 features + Secure portal access + Humidity + Light + Sound pressure + CO2 +Water heating + Leak detection • up to 40% savings* LOCAL CONTROL • Room temperature • Setback, Boost & Frost • User adjustment • Open window • Absense detection • Tamper-proof • Programmable • Electric or wet systems • up to 30% savings* Scan for product comparison
The supremely sticky campus Designers and authors Adam Scott and Dave Waddell share their thoughts on what it takes to create post-Covid campuses capable of attracting and retaining students and staff THERE’S nothing quite like a global pandemic to upset a director of finance’s circadian rhythms, and perhaps nowhere more so than at a British university – especially one that borrowed to spend millions on bricksand-mortar projects it imagined would give it the edge in attracting and retaining that holy grail of holy grails: the high-calibre campus-dwelling patron-inmaking student. Thing is, there’s no evidence that a brand spanking new set of buildings – in and of itself – attracts and retains students or results in better work and outcomes. To be clear, it’s not that students and staff don’t appreciate excellent so-called “learning spaces”, but rather that they expect so much more of a university, not least a campus life that is more like the most fluid and interchangeable of 24-hour high streets. A decent campus is an everevolving place of cultural and social exchange, a marketplace of ideas, an integrated and innovative cluster of all types of learning, then creating the sort of campuses that people love doesn’t have to cost the earth. For us, that means adopting an approach that speaks to the evolving or “always meanwhile” design of the festival, where the very best programmes are platforms for and invitations to audience participation, and where the focus is as much on people, culture, identity, and technology as it is space. Driven by a vision that includes – but is not limited to – achieving the highest education standards and underpinned by storyboarded or “experience mapped” research, it’s a design that pays attention to, anticipates, and adapts to the needs and wants of students across the day, week, month, and even term. It’s designing with time as much it is with space. None of this is to deny the importance of spatial or functional design solutions, but rather to simply champion an experience-led approach, one in which the design is informed by a deep understanding of the people it seeks to serve. For evidence of the counterintuitive success of the cheap, temporary, almost style-less – what the technologist and writer Stewart Brand calls “low road” – university building, then Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s legendary and now finally demolished Building 20 is probably the most remarkable example of unbelievably fine returns on the most modest of investments. A timber structure, Building 20 was designed in an afternoon, took six months to build, and was meant to last as long as it serviced the development of radar during the Second World War. Loved by university researchers for its easily owned and adaptable nature, and for the fact that it encouraged crossdepartmental fertilisation of ideas, it once housed no less than nine working Nobel Prize-winners. For something more current, Western Australia’s Curtin University is hard to beat. When in 2011 the Australian architect and urban thinker Andy Sharp arrived to undertake a spatial masterplan for the campus, he quickly discovered that an infrastructure inadequate to the needs of students and staff was the least of its problems. Apart from teaching hours, the campus was empty. “At certain times of the day, you could shoot a gun down the corridor, it was that empty,” he said. He made a case – academic standards, business, and spatial – for the creation of the campus as a “fun and exciting experience”. The subsequent Place Activation Plan is a manual on how to create the supremely sticky campus. Its centrepiece would be a main street, and a set of brand and design guidelines would be employed to activate it and the rest of the campus, piece by piece. A dedicated Place Management Team would oversee the activation, kicking off with so-called ‘quick wins’ in targeted destinations, the strategy’s success triggering medium- and long-term activations, all of which would come together to create the desired campus “stickiness”. The result: a campus renowned for its sheer vibrancy and one that has in a few short years made Curtin University the most popular university in Western Australia. highereducationestates 23 feature
Collaboration delivers exemplar campus in Belfast Rebecca Ryan of Scott Tallon Walker Architects discusses managing the delivery of one of the largest higher education capital builds in Europe ULSTER University is one of the most prestigious educational institutions in Northern Ireland, priding itself on its commitment to promoting excellence and nurturing the next generation of innovators and leaders. In line with this vision, the University has been consistently expanding and upgrading its facilities to provide state-of-the- art infrastructure to its students and faculties. One of the most significant recent transformations was the expansion of its new Belfast campus. Opened for the 2022/23 academic year, the new buildings added 75,000 sqm of additional space to the existing Ulster University city centre campus, making it one of the largest higher education capital builds in Europe. The new facility, which more than trebles the existing size of the university campus, accommodates over 15,000 students and staff, with the design reflecting Ulster University’s commitment to sustainability and community engagement. From the outset, a clear emphasis was placed on having the student experience and interaction as central to the design of the campus. The ambition was to foster a sense of community, with the layout of the new building encouraging collaboration and interaction among students, faculty members and visitors. Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBS) was the lead architect for the project, working closely with local architect partner McAdam Design. The new building features a wide range of best-in-class amenities, including lecture theatres, seminar rooms, laboratories, and a library that offers students access to the latest technologies and resources. Accommodation is arranged around five interconnected atria which serve as communal space for students and faculty to meet, relax and socialise. The campus is designed to integrate seamlessly into its city centre location. The dramatic light-filled atria are the main focus of the design and create a sequence of pedestrian routes and varied publicly accessible spaces which connect the building to the adjacent streets. In line with the University’s vision of making the university feel like a part of the city and the surrounding community, the lower floors are open to the public with various facilities including a public restaurant run by catering students. The development also supports the wider masterplan for the Belfast region, which has already seen an estimated £1.4 billion investment in its wider regeneration. Sustainability was a major priority for Ulster University, and this was taken into consideration at each stage of the design and construction process. The building incorporates a range of sustainable features including PV panels, green roofs, rainwater harvesting, and extensive use of natural ventilation via motorised louvres in the façade. The building also utilises energyefficient systems such as heat recovery ventilation and LED lighting to reduce energy consumption and lower the building’s carbon footprint. Other not so obvious items included minimising the weight of the building to reduce the amount of concrete both in the structure and in the foundations, and using locally sourced aggregates with ground-granulated blastfurnace slag cement. The completed 24 highereducationestates design solutions
building has achieved a BREEAM excellent rating – one of the leading sustainability credentials in the market. Scott Tallon Walker (STW) played a crucial leadership role in ensuring the overall success of the project through a collaborative approach with all partners involved. Working closely with White Ink Architects, Murphy Facades and The Paul Hogarth Company (landscape designers) as sub-consultants, STW led the Somague Sacyr contractor design team (it was the Spanish contractor’s first project in the UK) in developing FCBS’ exemplar design through detailed design to construction, completion and handover. STW’s role involved liaising with the University team and with statutory authorities, developing and completing the detailed design, and co-ordinating all aspects of the technical design with the entire design and construction teams, and managing the delivery of an extremely complex building. Such a significant project is not completed without its challenges and its successful delivery reflects the strength and depth of expertise of the project team. The scale and complexity of this building, on a tight urban site surrounded by busy arterial roads and active laneways, presented challenges for both the main contractor and for the STW-led design team, and the use of use building information modelling (BIM) by the contractor’s design team to create a digital twin of the building was essential to gaining a full understanding of the building, its structure and services. The detailed design and construction stage of the project took place over seven years, and during that time additional scope and changes by the client were inevitable. The BIM models assisted greatly in assessing the impact of changes required by the client before implementation so minimising disruption to the construction process and ensuring maximum efficiencies and reduced costs. Close collaboration with the University monitoring team and fortnightly meetings ensured that the University was kept informed at all stages of the process, allowing for a successful outcome. Despite difficulties, including one of the main contractor JV partners going into liquidation, Scott Tallon Walker's wellstructured project approach, and the collaborative efforts of the wider project team, helped minimize negative impacts on the delivery of the project. The result of the collective efforts achieved the University’s vision by delivering a high-quality, beautiful, and functional campus that provides its students with the best possible learning experience. www.stwarchitects.com www.fcbstudios.com www.mcadamdesign.co.uk www.sacyrinfraestructuras.com/en/unitedkingdom www.mfsgroup.com www.paulhogarth.com highereducationestates 25 design solutions
Offsite skills deliver UCL’s first Net Zero building Located on its Dagenham campus in Essex, The Person Environment Activity Research Laboratory (PEARL) is UCL’s first Net Zero carbon-in-use building PEARL has been equipped with minutely controllable indoor environments and sound systems to test the effect on people’s behaviour of factors such as space, colour, lighting, smell, visibility, appearance, and touch. The laboratory interior is black, while the background sound level and reverberation are very low – core aspects of the building’s design – intended to desensitise people’s awareness of “being in a building”. UCL commissioned the construction of the landmark Net Zero research facility through the London office of Penoyre & Prasad, which embraced offsite manufacturing techniques in order to deliver the project to a tight timetable and under challenging site conditions. This led to offsite specialist B&K Structures (BKS) working with timber engineers Engenuiti, timber supplier Stora Enso and main contractor VolkerFitzpatrick to design, manufacture and install the outer portal steel frame which, once clad, sheltered the erection of the two storey, 62.2 x 11.8m engineered timber “Groove” building. Functioning independently of the main volume of the “life laboratory”, this facility provides flexible workspaces, seminar rooms and workshops. The package included some 592 sqm of engineered timber from sustainable sources, mainly in Northern Europe with a 100% PEFC certified full chain of custody, delivering maximum points at MAT03 under the latest 2018 version of BREEAM; sequestering 379 tonnes of CO2e. The Director in charge of the project for Engenuiti, Clive Fussell, commented: “We have always wanted to be involved in projects which, both at their initial conception and their final detailed design and execution, optimise the benefits of timber. And you can gain a lot of learning from each one’s challenges. It is also increasingly vital as timber designers to understand from the earliest stages of a project, how things will go together in terms of connections, the limits on erection, and manufacture: in order to minimise wastage during manufacture and logistics.” In some perspectives, the concept for PEARL evokes a Babushka doll with one structure being built within another: providing a two-storey space for seminars, testing and trial fabrication while the evaluation of larger urban environments are conducted in the factory style main space. However, the problems presented by the juxtaposition of the concentric elements extended from the design stage through into many aspects of the construction work. Delivering this ground-breaking research facility to schedule and meeting its many goals in giving control over the interior environment has depended to a large extent on optimising the combination of different systems and building technologies in a truly hybrid solution. The 4,000 sqm space is formed by a portal steel frame of unusually complex trusses, with the outer envelope offering U-values of 0.15 W/m2K, while the roof carries a similar area of PV panels to provide 129% of power usage, including for heat pumps. Craig Robinson, BKS Contracts Manager, reflected: “The quality we have delivered on this ground-breaking project could not have been achieved without strong collaboration between project partners, particularly between BKS, Engenuiti and Stora Enso. In particular, early consideration of design and manufacture has been key to delivering this innovative system to an impeccable standard. The use of offsite construction and the expertise of all project partners has enabled the on-site works to run smoothly and to the client’s satisfaction.” Overall, the erection time for The Groove was just 13% of that required for a conventional timber frame while CLT and glulam are self-finished and contribute to a healthy environment. Ultimately, this solution ensured the rapid and cost effective completion of a complex, energy efficient building, which helped secure the UK’s first “Outstanding” award under new 2018 BREEAM requirements. www.bkstructures.co.uk www.penoyreprasad.com www.engenuiti.com www.volkerfitzpatrick.co.uk www.storaenso.com/en 26 highereducationestates feature
advertisement feature When it comes to choosing flooring, comparing products by cost is second nature, but in the last few years, an emphasis on a building’s environmental impact has become paramount, not least in terms of securing funding from the Department for Education. As well as choosing the right floor to start with, the environmental impact of maintaining and repairing the floor during its lifespan, and its eventual disposal or recycling is an increasingly important consideration. There can be no doubt that an effective maintenance programme will extend the life of a floor. It will also reduce waste and landfill, reduce consumption of raw materials, the need for recycling, carbon offsetting and pollution. Less frequent replacement also means operational carbon levels will be reduced in the long term because the use of vehicles and energy needed for manufacturing will be reduced. How many times can the floor be refurbished? A solid wood floor from Junckers can be sanded and sealed up to ten times and with 12-year intervals between sandings, a typical lifespan of 60 years will comfortably be exceeded, a claim that probably no other type of sports floor can match. Compared with a typical 15-year life of a synthetic or “engineered” floor there really is no comparison in terms of life cycle cost. Is it easy to repair if the floor gets worn or damaged? Floors made from large elements, typically plywood or chipboard sheets on to which vinyl, polyurethane or linoleum is laid, can be difficult to repair because of the large sheet size, and repairs will often result in large amounts of waste. The sheets will be glued together and often glued down as well. Floors made from smaller elements that are not fixed together, such as solid hardwood boards are easier to repair on a localised basis with far less waste. Can the floor be recycled? With the concept of the circular economy becoming more and more important, keeping raw materials in use for as long as possible reduces the impact on the environment. A Junckers solid wood floor can often be re- purposed – we often see decades old floors lifted from sports halls reused in commercial and even residential settings – a sand and seal make them good as new. At the end of its long life, a Junckers floor will degrade naturally, unlike flooring surfaces made from crude oil derived materials. A trusted maintenance contractor Regular professional maintenance will keep your floor in optimum condition and extend its lifespan. Junckers is offering all schools and education facilities a free health check for their floors, to assess its condition and performance level. Run through Junckers’ Approved Contractors Scheme, a local flooring professional will inspect the floor and recommend a maintenance regime, no matter what flooring surface you have. Tel: 01376 534 700 Email: [email protected] Instagram/Twitter: @junckersfloors Website: www. junckers.co.uk A good maintenance programme ensures long-life floors
University of St Andrews installs new doors and access controls at Younger Hall ABLOY UK, Aspex and Johan Doors have worked in collaboration to provide the University of St Andrews with a compliant access control solution for the refurbishment of Younger Hall. Younger Hall is the main venue for graduation ceremonies at the University, located in the centre of St Andrews. It is named after James and Annie Younger, local philanthropists and benefactors of the University. In recent years, the University of St Andrews had created a mandatory technical specification for access control and electric locking. It was quickly identified early on that electric magnetic locks and electric strikes were not secure methods of locking, and the Abloy EL560 was introduced to the University, and has been installed ever since. The Abloy EL560 lock is suitable for single leaf doors, but there are many double leaf entrance doors to the University building. As most of these doors are on an escape route, it was clear that the escape facilities needed to be considered, so panic bars were also introduced. The project had several requirements, including matching the existing traditional doors with both non-fire and fire rated doors, along with compliant access control ironmongery. The specification was challenging, as what might work from an ironmongery perspective and user functionality may not offer the best lifespan of the doors. Due to the historic nature and design of the building, the University was not able to use the standard Abloy EL560 locks normally specified on campus for the external doors. The external double leaf doors presented the most difficult part of the project, as they were extremely narrow, and the alternative options considered would not work on this particular application. Aspex worked closely with Johan Doors and Abloy to offer compliant installation on double doors that had a narrow leaf, Abloy proposed the PE590 motor lock with a PBE002 panic bolt. This configuration allows for the panic bar to be cut to suit the doors reduced width, providing a compliant and safe solution for these doors. The ironmongery specified also needed to meet current building regulations and practicality for everyday use, while considering the heritage surroundings and volume of people visiting the building. To get the correct finish, Johan Doors used solid walnut, and after several samples they found a stain to use on certain locations along with frames and detailed architrave. Johan Doors prepared the doors and supplied Abloy compliant satin brass levers to complement the walnut door finish, which were installed by Aspex along with the compliant Abloy locks. Doors requiring electric locking had to be manufactured to allow for electrical wiring from the Abloy lockcase through the centre of the door, into the concealed door loop and through the frame. Louie Woodland, Director at Johan Doors, said: “We have had great feedback from the Estates Project Manager in charge of the Younger Hall redevelopment. It’s a beautiful traditional building, and yet the heritage doors with modern technology does not look out of place. The need for heritage doors combined with technology has never been greater, so hopefully we can work with Aspex and Abloy again on similar projects in the future.” www.abloy.com/gb/en www.aspex-uk.co.uk www.johandoors.co.uk highereducationestates 29 security & access controls
Q-Mark certified fire door manufacture Bespoke designs available in a range of high pressure laminates and veneers Sustainably manufactured from FSC® certified timber Architectural ironmongery is fully compatible and factory fitted as standard Finger protection available and tested to BS 8613:2017 - Type A, Class 2 Dedicated specification team available to assist Useful tools - L20 specification tool, BIM families and Education Range selector Fire Doors for Education Doors are now available with seamless, integral finger protection. Our Education Range of severe-duty, made-to-order doorsets has been developed specifically for schools, colleges, academies and universities. FIRE RATING FD30, FD60 & FD90 ACOUSTIC RATING 29, 30, 35 & 40RwdB 02392 389 076 | www.ahmarra.co.uk For a site visit or quick quote: call us on 01380 830 697 visit www.coprisystems.com Our bespoke sports structures for schools use natural light and ventilation to create incredible spaces to play in all year round.
WORKING with architects, BDP Glasgow Studio and main contractor, Balfour Beatty, Style was recently specified to create flexible space in both the auditorium and one of the main classrooms in Strathclyde University’s £60 million new Learning & Teaching Building. Built with a sharp focus on sustainability, the Learning & Teaching Building was created through the refurbishment and integration of two existing buildings – the Colville Building and the Category B-listed Architecture Building. It is a collective space for all students and staff, comprising a variety of first-class learning and teaching facilities. In the tiered auditorium, a Skyfold Zenith stepped moveable wall was the ideal solution. Offering an outstanding 59dB acoustic rating and descending from the ceiling at the push of a button, the vertically rising moveable wall offers a unique “thin path of travel” which means it can descend into tight spaces, in this case the narrow gap between the seating. In the main classroom, a Dorma Hüppe Variflex moveable wall offers a 56dB acoustic rating and its semi-automatic operation means the acoustic seals are applied to the correct pressure to maximise the effectiveness of this operable wall. “We were delighted to have been specified to add adaptability to key areas of this iconic building,” said David Louden, Style’s director for Scotland. “The Skyfold looks fabulous in situ, with clean, white panels and is a real showcase for the University, and the classic laminate white finish on the Variflex complements the styling of the main classroom perfectly." www.style-partitions.co.uk www.bdp.com www.balfourbeatty.com FIRESTONE Building Products (FSBP), a specialist in EPDM roofing and lining systems, has helped Imperial College London to deliver a robust roof covering for the Wolfson Education Centre. Located at the Hammersmith campus, the building offers state-of-the-art facilities and a range of lecture theatres and seminar rooms. The existing asphalt roof of the Wolfson Education Centre had reached the end of its serviceable life. Water had begun to leak into the building, demanding a durable roofing solution that could be installed quickly. Firestone’s 1.5mm RubberGard EPDM was specified to refurbish the 300 sq m roof and overlay the existing covering. The single-ply waterproofing membrane was installed by contractors, Tunbridge Wells Roofing, along with new rigid PIR insulation to eliminate potential issues with condensation. Designed for flat and low slope roofs of commercial, industrial and residential buildings, RubberGard EPDM is a resilient roofing membrane with an unmatched resistance to ozone, UV radiation and extreme temperatures. Containing no plasticizers or flame retardants, its characteristics remain stable and unchanged over time, and requires little or no maintenance. As RubberGard EPDM is lightweight and doesn’t require any sophisticated or costly equipment, the membrane is also quick and easy to install. Speaking about the project, Paul Gilden from Tunbridge Wells Roofing, said: “We’ve carried out many roofing projects at Imperial College London using RubberGard EPDM. We know we can rely on the product to deliver a highly effective waterproofing solution with the added benefit of extensive support from Firestone’s technical services team.” www.firestonebpe.co.uk www.tunbridgewellsroofing.co.uk Imperial College London replaces Wolson Centre’s roof Flexible spaces created at Strathclyde Uni Image: Thomas Angus highereducationestates 31 roofing & furniture
The importance of overhauling data centres With rising energy prices and net zero targets facing the higher education sector, a sustainability-focused overhaul of energy-hungry IT operations has never been so important, says Peter Broadbent, director at M&E consultancy CPW WHEN it comes to data centres, IT departments have historically been resistant to change – placing data capacity, computing power, and reliability above all else. However, with ever-increasing electricity bills and a greater emphasis on sustainability, it is becoming impossible to ignore the high energy usage of our IT operations. Streamlined and energy-efficient data centre design is crucial in order to successfully pair eco-friendly solutions with real-time savings, ensuring universities meet carbon emissions targets in the push for Net Zero Carbon. We have been successfully helping our clients with cost and energy savings by switching to liquid cooling methods or utilising renewable energy such as photovoltaics (PV), wind energy, air source and ground source heat pumps. There are two main types of data centres to consider in higher education facilities. The first is academic, where security and reliability are crucial due to the sensitive data stored. The second is research, which use high performance computing to further industry innovation. In our experience, research data centres are more open to change and implementing different strategies to reduce energy consumption – for example, adopting water cooling technology in place of energy-inefficient traditional fans. With universities having some of the most ambitious energy targets of any sector, considering new ways to reduce energy consumption is more of a necessity than a luxury. Last year, we decreased the University of Birmingham’s energy consumption by 45%, saving £500,000 a year in running costs by taking the plunge to implement a liquid cooling system. If hot enough, a liquid cooling system can facilitate underfloor heating for nearby buildings with its’ waste heat – proving that sustainable energy doesn’t need to come with a big price tag. Upon completion, the university benefitted from two new data centres on campus, including one for research purposes and another for corporate data. At the University of Warwick, we have undertaken various commissions, including complete refurbishments and retrofits to existing buildings, working closely with the university to meet its specifications. An internal fit out project using an existing empty space within the building provided the opportunity for a unique solution – the installation of an air base system in an academic data centre, which included a high-powered rear door cooling system as part of a hybrid approach. This new, highly efficient data centre has meant that average measured consumption dropped to 30kW, having been closer to 300kW beforehand. Elsewhere on the university’s campus, we updated the physical sciences’ data centre by installing high-powered computers with 15kW racks, within a conventional machine room. The cooling system is served by a combination of conventional chillers and absorption chillers fed from the district heating network. The strategy of a university completely dictates the demand for our support, but with an increasing focus on net zero emissions, the need to consider and manage every element of power usage is becoming more important. By making the switch to more sustainable technology, it is now possible to bring typical power usage effectiveness (PUE) levels, the metric used to determine the energy efficiency of a data centre, down from 2 to just 1.1 – which can save businesses up to 45 per cent on running costs. Ultimately, data centres are 24/7 facilities and need to function efficiently, safely, and securely. We firmly believe that with increased education, we will see even greater demand for energy conscious retrofit and new build solutions soon. www.cpwp.com 32 highereducationestates data centre - technology
DAVFE Specify your education washrooms with the help of our online resources | www.venesta.co.uk L www.venesta.co.uk [email protected] We understand that inspiring student’s minds doesn’t stop in the classroom. We have specialised in designing and manufacturing education toilet cubicles and washroom systems for over 40 years. We know that performance, practicality and cost effectiveness are key considerations when specifying washrooms for children and young adults. What’s more, we’re proud to offer our industry-leading education washroom solutions in a wide range of colours and in a variety of door heights to suit all education settings. From secondary schools to universities, we’re sure to have suitable solutions for your projects. Contact our team today to discuss your education washroom projects. Call 01474 353333
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ0NzM=