Estates TSH-30-03-07-01 16/3/07 10:28 am Page 1

Estates Management MARCH 30 2007

Recycling proficiency Green Gown Award winners Estates TSH-30-03-07-02-03 16/3/07 10:30 am Page 1

l l l l l ESTATES

n Diversity of subjects and modularisation n The growth of further education n Role of student residence in learning. Exploit your The physical environment has always been an important factor in the learning process, although it is difficult to pin down its precise effect. The Times Good property University Guide notes that five of its top ten universities have the highest library and facilities expenditure levels. Research into student attitudes to selecting a university, conducted by the Sheffield Hallam Facilities potential Management Centre, found that high- quality environments had an effect. The physical environment of an institution is crucial to the A more telling example comes from the learning experience. Paul Watson surveys efforts to adapt further education sector, which is about a third of the way through a £4.5 billion facilities to student aspirations and to the 21st century capital replacement programme. The first projects are coming on stream. There has been a rise in the number of applications of niversities have been a as a whole have not kept pace. The overall between 50 per cent and 80 per cent, and remarkably successful business size of the estate is estimated to have also evidence of higher learning outcomes model for the past 500 years grown by less than 10 per cent in the past and more staff satisfaction from teaching. and have adapted to change decade, while full-time staff numbers There have been major improvements with a few short, sharp have fallen slightly. This has lowered staff- to the quality of the university estate in the shocks. An integral part of to-student ratios and changed teaching past few years. Spending has risen over five Utheir success has come from their physical and learning practices. years and fewer buildings are classified as identity. Now change is the order of the There are also implications for the estate being in poor condition or worse. Even so, day again. The UK higher education in the pedagogical changes that have almost a third of the estate is still regarded student population has risen by more than affected learning and teaching, such as: as being in this category. And there is a a third in the past decade, from 1.7 million n The changed nature of tutorials £4 billion maintenance backlog problem to 2.3 million. This has put pressure on the n Teaching large classes of buildings not adequate for purpose. The estate, and projections anticipate 300,000 n Reduced contact time cost of rectifying these has risen by 41 per more students over five years. We are now n Growth of IT and self-directed learning cent since 2000. While the proportion of in one of the short, sharp shock phases. n Changed demands on students through poor-quality buildings has fallen, the cost Staff numbers and the university estate “earning and learning” of improving them has risen. A scrub-up for the iconic artefacts of a The revolutionary face the choice between demolition and former architectural consultant to Essex, rebuilding and extensive renovation. says the decade was a time of unparalleled campuses of the Sixties Quite a few are staying with their unique convergence between the visions of vice- are showing their age and buildings but freshening them up. Essex chancellors and architects. Today, University has spent £1 million a year over partnerships between academe and many are booked in for a the past seven years, while Lancaster industry mean premises have to reflect facelift, says Becky McCall University has allocated £27 million the standards of the commercial world. over five years. Andrew Mark Swindlehurst is director Nightingale, director of estate of estate management at IN THE SAME WAY that the miniskirt and management at Essex, says: ‘Instead of Lancaster. He says: “We recently the Beatles came to symbolise the “Instead of demolishing, we’ve demolishing, renovated the management fashions of the Sixties, so reinforced decided to work on maintaining we’ve decided school with a large open-plan, concrete and glass campuses came to the good and reinventing the adaptable floor space. There’s stand for a new era in education. These use of the space.” to maintain also a pedestrian walkway iconic institutions reflected a new wave Many see these Sixties the good and with a coffee shop and hub of freethinking and intellectual rigour. But constructions as weird and reinvent the use area to discuss ideas.” the concrete monoliths are approaching wonderful artefacts of bygone of the space’ Turn up at the University of their 50th year and the cracks are times. Nicholas Hare of Nicholas East Anglia in Norwich and you showing. Vice-chancellors and architects Hare Architects LLP, London, could be forgiven for believing

2 MARCH 30 2007 THE TIMES HIGHER Estates TSH-30-03-07-02-03 16/3/07 10:31 am Page 2

ESTATES l l l l l

The pressure on estate budgets also teaching, learning and research environ- comes from the growth in student ments, contribute to the student w numbers, which has led to a push to cut experience and be capable of being CONTENTS unit costs, principally to release funds for maintained at an appropriate cost in terms priorities such as pay and equipment. of the institution’s recurrent funding. But this approach assumes the current But defining “affordable” requires university estate is suited to the needs estimates of future revenues and costs of teaching, learning and and of expenditure allocated research. We also know that to maintaining the estate. space use across the sector ‘Institutions may This means having a detailed is about 20 per cent. Many be struggling picture of space needs today institutions may be struggling and in future, including to maintain accommodation to maintain considerations such as: that is not only unsuitable, but accommodation n The growing emphasis on the unneeded. that is not only environment and sustainability We are aware of one n The need for flexible and institution that plans to review unsuitable, but adaptable space all accommodation on its unneeded’ n Efficient and effective use principal campus. The move of space PROPERTY POTENTIAL was prompted by its health and n Financial viability. The state of the estate ...... 2 safety liability, assessed at tens of millions Getting this right involves understanding A SCRUB-UP FOR ICONS of pounds. Management is reluctant factors such as staff and student numbers, Sixties structures are being revamped . 2 to commit funds to replace fire alarms, contact hours, management practices, remove asbestos and renew cladding estate size and configuration, and growth IT’S JUST LIKE A JIGSAW when the completed environment will plans. While the full implications can be The daily dilemmas of Essex’s estate still be a compromise between today’s difficult to estimate, doing so can offer management director ...... 4 and tomorrow’s needs. insight and project benefits to institutions. PICK THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS The preference is for a much more radical History suggests that much of the Higher education sets the campus renewal programme, which will sector may regard change with healthy environmental agenda ...... 5 require significantly more capital but will suspicion. But there are indications that SIGN UP FOR SPACE EXPLORATION result in accommodation better tailored more radical reviews of the estate are A new assessment model to the institution’s needs. under way and is generating significant for building needs ...... 6 Against this background, the much long-term rewards.l discussed concept of the “affordable URBAN ATTRACTIONS estate” needs to be better understood. Paul Watson is a partner of the Campuses are key players Such facilities should offer high-quality property advisers GVA Grimley. in sustainable regeneration ...... 6 ECO-WARRIORS BATTLE GETTY TO CLEAN UP THE ACT The winners of this year’s bygone era Green Gown Awards ...... 8 CUT THE GAS, SHED MORE LIGHT Awards showcase best practice . . . . 10 you were in a time warp. Rick Mather Architects rose to the challenge of EN SUITE AND SOUR extending the campus without sacrificing Private property portfolios its 1960s aspect. Rick Mather says: “We are not to everyone’s taste ...... 12 drew up a masterplan that respected the STUDENTS FILL THE PLACES, original concept of a concrete ship floating WE FOCUS ON THE SPACES in a sea of green. But we brought the Estate managers must pedestrian circulation down to ground balance competing demands ...... 12 level.” One of the major successes of the GO FOR WOW FACTOR, BUT… UEA project is the student residences, which Budgets, builders and blueprints prey have such highly efficient energy retention on the mind of an estates director . . 14 that they do not require central heating. Rick Mather Architects are also building CARBON DATING AGENCY a design academy for Liverpool John A consortium offers help in reducing Moores University, adjacent to the Roman a campus’s carbon footprint ...... 14 Catholic Cathedral. The challenge is to build in a style complementary to this 1960s icon while satisfying the functional w Transfixed in ‘66: students on the demands of the present.l construction site at Essex University

THE TIMES HIGHER MARCH 30 2007 3 Estates TSH-30-03-07-04-05 16/3/07 10:32 am Page 1

l l l l l ESTATES

w A DAY IN THE LIFE It’s just like a jigsaw The tasks for Essex’s estate management director Andrew Nightingale involve slotting together ideas on funding, erecting a wind turbine and tackling the planning committee

FEBRUARY 2007 in maintenance (yes, I know all estates as well as productive. Discussion centres on 8.30am directors say that, but it’s true) to reducing the feasibility project for a wind turbine on I usually drive to work, although I try to do the university’s carbon footprint. campus. Some years ago we proposed it as the half-hour walk one day a week. First job 10am a spoof in the university newsletter. How is Outlook on, spam off. The first meeting is The accommodation group meets to things have changed. with the security manager to review any consider the allocation of space for the next 2.30pm overnight incidents at any of our campuses. academic year. It’s like a gigantic jigsaw, The afternoon involves a review of a It’s the usual mix of welfare and security moving the pieces around and making recently completed capital project, with the issues. The Colchester campus is very safe, them fit. Very rewarding when it works, builder, the project manager, the client and but our new campus in Southend Town but frustrating when you realise a piece me, the estate management project officer. Centre may provide some challenges. went missing from the box years ago. An uninhibited discussion ensues, from Any spare time today will be spent 1pm which we all learn a lot. Had the job gone drafting a paper outlining our capital Lunch at my desk, time to clear a few wrong, we would have been too concerned investment strategy and progressing the dreaded e-mails and catch up with three of with protecting our contractual position to acquisition of a new building for the East the deputy directors: maintenance, capital have such a constructive discussion. 15 Acting School in Loughton. I’ve and development, and purchasing. We 5pm identified 30 issues the strategy will need work well as a team and there’s a good I pick up Liz, my wife, then drive to to address, ranging from underinvestment rapport between us, making meetings fun Loughton to address the planning

4 MARCH 30 2007 THE TIMES HIGHER Estates TSH-30-03-07-04-05 16/3/07 10:32 am Page 2

ESTATES l l l l l

PICTURES: JOEL CHANT Pick the right solutions from a forest of ideas

An instinct for innovation likely to see growing demand from students and employers for courses that address the will enable higher financial, social and environmental aspects education to lead the of sustainable development. There is also little doubt that research and knowledge- environmental agenda. transfer funds will flow to institutions able David Eastwood explains to offer solutions to pressing technological and social questions. Finally, there are cost and efficiency HIGHER EDUCATION HAS been at the benefits from a long-term and sustainable heart of identifying the causes and the approach. These are nowhere more evident extent of global climate change. But than in estates and facilities management. universities and colleges seeking to Rising energy prices and carbon trading will reduce the environmental impact of accelerate these advantages. But “green” their estate often face high construction buildings are only a part of the picture. costs, the uncertainties of embracing The full benefits will come from adopting novel technologies, constraints on listed a strategic and sustainable approach to buildings and a not always sympathetic physical infrastructure. Efficient use of assets town planning system. — space management, lifecycle costing and w Nightingale (left and bottom), Yet the tide is turning. Buildings that JASON BYE and with colleagues Maz Brook were once revolutionary are becoming (top and above) and Greg Dumbrell commonplace, and management practice in areas such as transport and waste is adapting quickly. The creation of knowledge and the exploration of new ways of doing things are at the very heart of our higher education system. The sector’s willingness to take the long-term view is spelt out clearly in the values and mission of many institutions. But the contribution of our universities and colleges goes well beyond formal education. Through cultural leadership and economic w Eastwood: the key is partnership influence, they shape thinking and committee considering an application for practice in cities, regions and beyond. the evaluation of projects and practice — two temporary buildings on our campus The Higher Education Funding Council is a key contributor to sustainability. The there. The officers recommend approval. for England’s 2005 vision statement for estate is a tangible opportunity to show that The committee disagrees on a 7-5 vote. I sustainability states: “Within the next what universities and colleges do in practice restrain Liz from telling them what she ten years, the higher education sector matches what they say. This gives the Green thinks of democracy in action. In the car we in this country will be recognised as a Gown Awards added impact. agree that addressing a committee where major contributor to society’s efforts to For Hefce’s part, we will continue to the majority party is the BNP is not easy. achieve sustainability — through the skills encourage institutions to pursue strategies We adjourn to the Loch Fyne restaurant, and knowledge that its graduates learn for sustainable development, but we will enjoy a splendid meal and drive home. and put into practice, and through its avoid an overly centralised approach that 11.30pm own strategies and operations.” would run the risk of stifling the initiative The day finally finishes. Some you win, A strong moral imperative — the so evident among the Green Gown Award some you lose.l desire for a just society and for reducing entries. Here, as so often, partnership the impact of climate change on nations working is the key to success.l Andrew Nightingale is director of less able to respond than our own — estate management, Essex University, provides a compelling basis for action. David Eastwood is chief executive of and past chair of the Association of And, while curricula issues are rightly a the Higher Education Funding Council University Directors of Estates. matter for individual institutions, we are for England.

THE TIMES HIGHER MARCH 30 2007 5 EstatesTSH-30-03-07-06-07 16/3/07 10:35 am Page 1

l l l l l ESTATES

insurance replacement value is reported at more than £43 billion. Poorly used buildings are a drain on resources that Sign up for a could be better invested elsewhere. The UK Higher Education Space Management Group (SMG) was set up to provide advice on effective space stint of space management. Its focus is on helping institutions ensure that they have the appropriate type and amount of space, and that it is affordable and sustainable. exploration The Space Management Project, which is funded by all the UK funding councils, is led by consultants Kilner Planning and A new model for assessing ffordability is a critical issue supported by Bernard Dromgoole of across higher education. the Higher Education Funding Council a university’s building needs Estates costs are often said for England. It was established to develop takes into account not only to be the second-largest the necessary tools and guidelines for outgoing for institutions institutions. its academic profile but after salaries, and they are Managing a university’s space more rising.A Energy costs have almost doubled in effectively can enhance the quality of also staff and students’ recent years. Even excluding residences, the both the student and the staff experience activities, says David Chiddick higher education estate has a floor area of and can be positive for recruitment and more than 20 million square metres. Its retention. There is an intrinsic link between Prime developers of urban attractions

of today’s estate development boom. Nottingham’s Jubilee “Everyone is realising that estate Campus is notable not just development is vital to making cities attractive to highly mobile professional for its design but also for people. Universities are asking the its role in regeneration, question: ‘How do our estates extend to the public realm?’,” he says. as Matthew Baker reports There are generous grants available. Essex University’s new campus at BACK IN THE 1960s, T. Dan Smith, Southend, which is due to be unveiled this the maverick leader of Newcastle City year, has had some £25 million in grants. Council, generated some incredibly Its purpose-built or redeveloped buildings ambitious regeneration plans to make offer educational facilities as well as a Newcastle the “Brasilia of the North”. business development centre, incubation Using town-planning powers to buy units for start-ups, GP and dental surgeries, a series of prime sites, he trumpeted shops, student accommodation and a the idea of making education the base cultural hub. The redevelopment is of regeneration. In an era in which intended to reverse a severe brain drain universities were generally inward and retain the brightest graduates to looking and guilty of an anti-urban bias, put Southend on the map. the plan was by all accounts The strength of these developments, extraordinary. many argue, is in their long-term vision. So was Smith, who was later convicted Where developers have often hidden of corruption charges. Nevertheless, behind the language of regeneration to his ideas are being reclaimed by a new make a quick buck, universities can build generation of regeneration experts. a sustainable future for their communities. John Goddard, deputy vice-chancellor “Universities are in a unique position acclaimed project is the Nottingham Jubilee and professor of regional development because we have long-term commitment to Campus, which opened in 1999. At a cost studies at Newcastle University, thinks estates, we’re not developers,” agrees Chris of £50 million, the site reclaimed eight Smith was ahead of his time. He claims Jagger, director of estate development for hectares of redundant industrial land to that Smith’s ideas were the forerunner Nottingham University. One such widely house a number of university schools.

6 MARCH 30 2007 THE TIMES HIGHER EstatesTSH-30-03-07-06-07 16/3/07 10:36 am Page 2

ESTATES l l l l l

an estate that is fit for purpose and a University Grants Committee and the assessing the annualised cost of viable higher education institution. former Polytechnic and Colleges Funding supporting an estate is regularly upgraded The SMG has developed guidance and Council, but it is careful to recognise and renewed. It can be downloaded and tools to help institutions assess their space diversity in the sector. The SMG method used to get a measure of whether there is needs, promote effective use of space, assists institutions to estimate space needs a gap between what needs to be spent on and ensure that space efficiency is taken on the basis of their own particular profile estates and what is actually being spent. It seriously in building design. It has of academic activity and methods of will help institutions to assess what size of calculated the cost of space that is fit for delivery, rather than a set of standard estate is affordable and sustainable, in purpose and adequately maintained. It assumptions about academic disciplines. both environmental and financial terms. has also looked at how future changes The method also allows for diversity of A key theme of the SMG’s work is that in the sector might affect practice across the sector in a space management is not an isolated task. needs, and what can be learnt way the earlier norms did not. It is as much about people as buildings from the experience of other ‘There is an It can also be used to evaluate and, to be at its most effective, it needs to sectors and from higher intrinsic link the space implications of be closely integrated with academic and education overseas. between an changes in student and staff financial planning. So we have aimed to The SMG has developed numbers, or of developments develop strategic-level space management a method to calculate a estate that is in pedagogy. Without such an measures alongside practical guidelines university’s indicative space fit for purpose assessment, it is difficult for any and interactive tools that institutions can needs, in terms of the type of and a viable institution to know whether it use to tailor to their own circumstances.l space required as well as the higher has broadly the right amount amount. This method shares and type of space. Benchmarks David Chiddick is chairman of the UK much of the approach that education will help an institution decide if Higher Education Space Management underpinned earlier space institution’ it has more space than it needs. Group. The SMG guides are available standards developed by the old The SMG’s model for at www.smg.ac.uk that foster sustainable community life

w New angles on innovation: always integrated research, teaching Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus and clinical practice. With businesses wanting to be in closer proximity to series of lakes that provide cooling for the academia, we’re seeing a model buildings in the summer. where research, clinical practice and The project is a past winner of the Royal commercialisation sit cheek by jowl with Institute of British Architects Sustainability sciences, engineering, arts and humanities, Award, beating the Eden Project. It is and other areas,” he says. also, according to Jagger, an example But this relationship, he adds, runs the of what universities should be doing, risk of tempting universities to stretch “pushing boundaries, demonstrating beyond their means. “And who bears the new technologies and creating innovation cost if it goes wrong? They can’t assume through knowledge transfer”. the Government will always bail them out.” The same logic has informed projects Michael Brown, vice-chancellor of such as the development of health and Liverpool John Moores University, has social care facilities at London South Bank similar views. In a city dubbed the “capital University to train workers required for the of cranes”, he says the university made growth of primary care trusts, and Oxford a contribution long before it became University’s Bregboke Science Park, which fashionable. “Five years ago, most of translates cutting-edge research into the cranes were public sector, now they’re commercial opportunities. private sector.” But if you overstretch, “What we’ve tried to do, at the start he says, it’s simply bad business. of a very ambitious 15-year estates Some universities are likely to throw development programme,” explains Peter caution to the winds as estates Holiday, project director of South Bank’s development becomes more important. MIKE SEWELL strategic development plan, “is to engage “Universities are no longer seen just as Hailed as one of the top five sustainable with local community groups to tease out places where people teach and do projects in the country, the campus design what everyone’s aspirations are.” research,” Brown adds. “They have a huge is seen as a milestone in green architecture. Goddard says universities following such impact on how we live. And agencies are It includes roofs carpeted with alpine plants a strategy are borrowing from a model that more interested in partnership and working to maintain steady temperatures, and a began in medicine. “Medical schools have with us than ever before.”l

THE TIMES HIGHER MARCH 30 2007 7 EstatesTSH-30-03-07-08,09,10,11 16/3/07 10:37 am Page 1

l l l l l ESTATES

w GREEN GOWN AWARDS Eco-warriors battle to clean up the act This year’s winners had new spins on fuel efficiency, bicycle recycling, environmentally friendly building renovations and course content. Martin Ince reports

he Green Gown Awards are 50 per cent cut in carbon output by 2020. designed to acknowledge The judges found that the Pershore achievement in areas where programme could be applied to the whole higher education meets the of the college sector. They were especially environment. Of the seven impressed with its community connections categories, two recognise the and its link to local businesses. vitalT need to green the curriculum itself, The Continuous Improvement category with one award for degrees and a second was won by Leeds University for a series for vocational courses. Two more of initiatives that have been taking effect emphasise universities as users of space since 2002, although the university began and resources in their own right. These using combined heat and power and awards are for top performance in the use recycling its paper in the 1990s. Transport, of water and power, and for sustainable waste, carbon emissions and other main construction. Another award is for student- concerns have been identified and tackled led initiatives, and a further recognises over time. continuous improvement in achievement, Some areas have been marked by steady while the seventh is specifically for colleges progress — for example, a doubling in rather than universities. paper recycling and a growing emphasis The colleges winner this year is the on buying recycled goods. Major Pershore Group of Colleges. It is a land- projects include specific consideration based college with the interest in of the environmental impact of any some students leave the university without sustainability that one might expect of an new or significantly refurbished building. taking their bikes with them. In the past, institution with its own farm and nursery. The university is heavily involved in security staff removed unwanted machines, A variety of initiatives over several years has environmental research, and its School which were consigned for scrap or to allowed it to reduce fuel use, cut chemical of Geography was the UK’s first carbon- landfill. Now the orphan bikes are tagged use on its land and enhance biodiversity, neutral university department. for removal but handed to the student and save money. There have been benefits Leeds regards its commitment to fair union, not the rubbish collectors. And the for staff, students and the local community trade as an integral part of its sustainability. bikes — 80 in 2006 — are auctioned to in Pershore, Gloucestershire. It became a Fairtrade University in 2005. students at the start of the academic year. Staff awareness of the issues has been The judges praised the university for its The money raised is used to fund ethics enhanced by training, for which external “articulate strategic approach” and the way and environment work by the union and funding has been obtained. All students it has involved both staff and external elsewhere. Some of the cash has paid for learn about sustainability, and the college organisations in its plans. bikes to keep doctors in Africa mobile so is involved in a European Union Leonardo York University Student Union had the they can visit more villages and treat more project to develop sustainable land use winning student initiative. Its Bike Auction people. education across Europe. is an innovative approach to greening According to the judges, Bike Auction Although much progress has been made, transport and keeping scrap metal out of “encapsulates everything student initiatives the college has more plans, including a landfill. York has many keen cyclists, but can achieve, is inexpensive and highly

8 MARCH 30 2007 THE TIMES HIGHER EstatesTSH-30-03-07-08,09,10,11 16/3/07 10:38 am Page 2

ESTATES l l l l l

JOHN HOLCROFT

replicable across other universities and colleges”. ‘The orphan bikes are tagged for removal but handed to the At the other end of the technology scale student union, not the rubbish collectors. The bikes are then is the top conserver of water and power, auctioned to students at the start of the next academic year’ Southampton University. The main aim of its Highfield district heating and combined heat and power scheme is to reduce the installation of new generators and the extensive refurbishment, this had to be university’s carbon footprint by using more connection to the system of buildings that taken into account. efficient equipment. Other priorities are to previously had their own, less efficient, King’s decided to adopt a sustainable reduce the whole-life cost of the operation, plant. The judges point to the very detailed approach to the task. The newly restored expand capacity and lower the temperature and practical engineering of this scheme, building makes maximum use of natural and pressure at which it operates for with its clearly defined benefits. light and solar heat. The windows can be heating. This allows heat loss in the system The Most Sustainable Construction opened, reducing the need for air to be cut and in turn reduces the size and project award went to King’s College conditioning. Perhaps most intriguingly, cost of the pumping equipment it needs. London. The building on its Strand campus King’s claims that the relationship between The programme involved replacing in central London was built just after circulation spaces and staircases has been and refurbishing valves, pumps, heat the college was founded in 1829. It is restored — encouraging people to take the exchangers and other equipment, the Grade I-listed and, while it needed stairs instead of the lift. The building will

THE TIMES HIGHER MARCH 30 2007 9 EstatesTSH-30-03-07-08,09,10,11 16/3/07 10:39 am Page 3

l l l ESTATES

reduce electricity by 830,000 units a year, saving 383 tonnes of carbon dioxide — and £77,000. The restoration involved extensive demolition, and there was a Cut the gas — shed more target of recycling 80 per cent of the resulting material. As much as possible The 2006-07 awards are THIS YEAR’S GREEN Gown Awards show was reused, and the contractors had a how commitment, energy and innovation range of environmental goals to hit. The marked by impressive enable universities and colleges to respond judges praised the whole project for efforts to reduce waste and positively to environmental and social “simply doing all the right things”. challenges. They show too that universities Of the two awards for course content, recycle more, underpinned such as Leeds (winner in the Continuous the top vocational innovator is Sheffield by cash constraints and the Improvement category) and Southampton Hallam University, with its Landlords for (winner in the Energy and Water Efficiency Excellence programme. This course for need to cut energy use. category, and the only institution to win private landlords is run by the university’s Peter James explains or be commended in every year of the facilities directorate alongside Development awards) are developing an impressive and Society, an academic school of the capacity to do this in a sustained way. university. It helps landlords reduce the The awards also illustrate challenges blight and mess associated with much for a sustainable estates strategy. King’s private rented accommodation, including JULIAN ANDERSON student housing. As well as green issues, it teaches them about substance abuse, fire safety and marketing. For the university, there have been several benefits including a better relationship with the local community. It has also built links between the university and bodies such as the city council, the police and organisations representing the local black community. The judges felt Landlords for Excellence was an innovative approach to a significant environmental and social issue that engages a hard-to-reach group effectively. The winner for course content is Bristol University. Its Sustainable Development: Teaching against the Grain course unit was first presented in 2005-06. It was intended to take an interdisciplinary approach to a subject that was not strong at Bristol. The content of the course, which any student can take, ranges from energy generation to congestion charging, and tackles approaches from the scientific to the legal. The benefits of offering the unit are hard to quantify. The academics involved have gained a sense of involvement in green issues on the campus and now feel less isolated. The students — drawn from 14 departments in the first year alone — have learnt things that will allow them to be greener in their student and their later life. And the university is now preaching what it practises. The unit is described by the judged as an exciting innovation for a university that can seem more traditional than most. It has also opened the door to more interdisciplinary teaching in Bristol.l

Martin Ince is contributing editor, w Social inclusion: King’s College London’s new open dining space makes The Times Higher. use of natural light and solar heat and aims to reduce heating bills

10 MARCH 30 2007 THE TIMES HIGHER EstatesTSH-30-03-07-08,09,10,11 16/3/07 10:40 am Page 4

ESTATES l l l

light on a low-carbon culture instead

College London, winner in the Sustainable residences. As a new report from Higher institutions will have to make a formal Construction category, proves there can Education Environmental Performance energy performance commitment and be environmentally positive refurbishment. Improvement reveals, there is potential for display an Energy Performance Certificate Financial pressures and slowing expansion improvement here, but it can be hard to in many buildings of more than 1,000 in the sector will place greater focus on achieve. Divided responsibility between square metres. making the most of the existing estate estates and residence managers for The business case for more sustainable through better use of space and running university-owned accommodation buildings is becoming more compelling. refurbishment. Minimising newbuild often impedes action by either. Energy prices may fluctuate, but most is generally good for the environment as Several of this year’s winners have been experts expect them to rise. There is well as the balance sheet. participants in the Carbon Trust’s Carbon mounting evidence that some of the key Sheffield Hallam University, a winner in Management programme and are well environmental features of such buildings — one of the curriculum categories for its placed to respond to new regulations on for example, optimal use of natural light work in educating private landlords on reducing emissions and increasing energy and higher indoor air quality through use sustainability, highlights a neglected area: efficiency. By 2008, it is likely that most of toxin-free materials — contribute to better work performance and cut sickness. The Royal Academy of Engineering Green Gown Awards 2006-07 estimates that the lifetime costs of a The winners building are about 200 times the initial design and construction costs, with wColleges wEnergy & Water Efficiency operational costs five times greater. The long-term benefits from even a 1 per cent to 2 per cent improvement in productivity, Winner Winner or a 5 per cent to 10 per cent change in Pershore Group of Colleges Southampton University energy performance, can be positive, even if additional capital outlay is needed. Highly Commended Highly Commended A Heepi report on “high-performance” Trinity and All Saints College Bristol University buildings suggests many of these benefits wContinuous Improvement wStudent Initiatives can be achieved with no, or minimal, additional capital costs. It also shows that the real comparison is often not with Winner Winner “cheaper” buildings that generally perform Leeds University York University Student Union well but with “low-performance” buildings that don’t work for users and guzzle more Highly Commended Highly Commended utilities than stipulated in their design Cambridge University Loughborough University and specification, making them costly to run — University of East Anglia Loughborough Student Union either because building use was not Edinburgh University Kingston University properly considered or because the Oxford Brookes University North Devon College Student Green Group equipment installed is bigger than needed. wCourse Content (Degrees) wSustainable Construction Poor controls that are over-complicated or badly installed also affect running costs. These and many other problems can Winner Winner be avoided. Universities must set clear Bristol University King’s College London objectives, ensure these are implemented through the entire building process and Highly Commended Highly Commended allow time for an integrated design process Gloucestershire University Dundee University to get key features right first time. It isn’t Plymouth University easy, but the evidence from the best Queen’s University Belfast performers shows it can be done.l wCourse Content (Vocational) Peter James is professor of environmental management at Winner Bradford University and co-director Sheffield Hallam University of the Heepi project, which works with sector partners to organise the Highly Commended Green Gown Awards. For more Swansea Institute of Higher Education details, visit www.heepi.org.uk

THE TIMES HIGHER MARCH 30 2007 11 EstatesTSH-30-03-07-12-13 16/3/07 10:41 am Page 1

l l l l l ESTATES En suite and sour Hotel-style digs with price tags to match offer students comfort and universities income, so why isn’t everyone keen on such schemes? wonders Alison Utley

ishwashers, leather sofas, Universities are starting to make their broadband, flat-screen valuable property portfolios work for them. televisions with Sky TV Very often bed spaces on campus are no packages. Students arriving longer owned by the institutions that house on campus today stand a them. And, universities argue, releasing the good chance of being treated money involved gives them more to spend Dto digs more akin to rooms offered by an on developing their estates. But is this in profit has also led to worries about loss of international hotel chain than the fag- the interests of students or are prices, social, pastoral and democratic structures strewn living quarters and mouldy already on the up, set to rocket further, as within residences. bathrooms that greeted previous the National Union of Students fears? But universities argue that deals with the generations of undergraduates. The NUS says that average university and private sector enable them to build better And student hospitality, as it is now private-sector hall rents are now 83 per cent facilities that can only benefit students. A known, is big business. Major construction of the weekly student loan budget. “With refinancing deal at Lincoln University, for chains are permanent features on many increasing rents under privatisation, fewer example, recently released £30 million. It campuses, and complicated buyback or people from poor families can afford to go took the university some 18 months to leaseback arrangements with banks — to university — in direct conflict with the negotiate the deal to unlock the money. regarded a few years ago as high-risk Government’s objective of improving access Part of the cash has been used to finance a strategies — are increasingly common. to higher education,” it says. The focus on development programme over the next five Students fill the places and we focus People expect a campus latest IT equipment. They demand the universities are responsible for botanic same quality of facilities of their university. gardens or have iconic listed buildings. to have modern amenities It is no longer enough to depend on Many face deteriorating 1960s buildings. and be sustainable. The reputation to recruit students. Young Universities are finding innovative ways people need an environment in which they to fund maintenance and improvement of estate manager must can develop their skills. the estate, such as rationalising facilities or balance such demands, The provision of facilities for students pooling them with other universities or is a service industry. The demands of outside partners, and capitalising the says Peter Kerr students, who now pay for their education, income stream from student residences, has meant growth in the creation of investing the funds in the maintenance of immersive environments, social learning academic buildings and the creation of A UNIVERSITY IS often recognised by spaces, learning clusters and group new and improved facilities for students. its estate, and many use it as part of their teaching and learning spaces. For estates directors, things have branding. But the reality of the 21st- Estates directors are attuned to these changed, too, on the environmental century university building is very priorities. It is not simply the demands of agenda. Their inevitable association with different from its popular stereotype. investing in new or improved facilities for the management of car parking has While students may be attracted at students that they face. The 2005 Estate progressed to the issues of sustainability first by the thought of eccentric Management Statistics show the sector and renewables. Universities are aware of academics and buildings to match, they managing 24.9 million square metres of the need to reduce their carbon footprint have have been brought up and educated gross space with a total annual estimated – students and staff form a very effective in modern homes and schools with the property cost of £1.55 billion. Some pressure group. But it is often students and

12 MARCH 30 2007 THE TIMES HIGHER EstatesTSH-30-03-07-12-13 16/3/07 10:42 am Page 2

ESTATES l l l l l

w Water feature: students enjoy the the facilities offered at Manchester

was transferred to a new charitable company called Lincoln Student Solutions Limited (LSL). The company is jointly owned by the university, Sanctuary Housing Association and the Bank of Scotland. The contract is expected to run for 35 years. In return for transferring the residences to LSL, the university will forgo the rents for the premises but will receive an upfront premium of £30 million. At the end of the period, the residences will return to the university. Ball says the funds will be used to reduce Lincoln’s exposure to loans, enabling it to commit to new building projects such as a student centre being created in a former railway engine shed. An added bonus, he says, would be a £1 million environmental COLIN MCPHERSON improvement scheme. years at the university’s main Brayford Pool Students living in the village and staff But Manchester University remains to be campus. working for the residences will be largely convinced by leaseback schemes. It says it Such deals are complex. Other efforts to unaware of the changes, says Stephen has the largest number of places in follow this route have stalled, according to Avery, director of finance and resources at university-owned accommodation in the Ben Ball, manager of residential services at Lincoln. “The deal is an extremely good UK, with more than 9,000 in halls of Lincoln. “The links between the university one for the university in that it secures the residence. Helen McGlasham, head of the and the housing provider need to be very maintenance of the halls of residence and accommodation office, says that although carefully worked out so that both parties’ maintains a shared interest by the university some halls were leased from the private interests are looked after,” he says. “We are in the charitable vehicle, while unlocking sector, all were managed by the university . confident we got that right, and it is key to finance essential to realise the full potential “We feel this is the only way we can making sure students get the best possible of this university.” continue to provide students with a first- service while keeping costs under control.” The university’s Brayford Student Village class service,” she says.l on the spaces to make things happen

staff who do not want the inconvenience matched by a cultural shift from reliance on measures in place that eliminate the need of reduced or more effective energy the car. for firefighters to enter a building, but they use. Students have far more electrical Renewables are a requirement of also require staff to ensure that buildings equipment in their rooms than they had building regulations, but the town planners are empty in an emergency. 15 years ago. Similarly, their expectation is may object to the installation of wind Managing a university estate is a fascinating job that demands a variety of skills and abilities. The common factor is ‘Renewables are a requirement of building regulations, but the the desire to create a safe, attractive, town planners may object to the installation of wind turbines’ sustainable and stimulating environment in which students learn and academics teach and research. Some years ago, it of a 24-hour-a-day society with access to all turbines or other renewable energy devices was suggested that estate management buildings, which must be heated and lit, that are too visible. The modern estate was not a core function of a university. and an extended day for eating and management operation is faced with a But the physical environment in which drinking. It has been estimated that carbon plethora of legislation, which too often has learning is undertaken is so fundamental dioxide emissions for the sector equate to contradictory aims. Many universities to the process that this suggestion no 1 tonne per full-time student a year. installed automatic doors to comply with longer holds true.l The tension between sustainability and the Disability Discrimination Act, but their the service and comfort society demands is use means a marked increase in energy bills Peter Kerr is director of estates and apparent. An acknowledgement that there because of heat loss. Fire risk assessments building services, Heriot-Watt are too many vehicles on the roads is not under the Regulatory Reform Act require University.

THE TIMES HIGHER MARCH 30 2007 13 EstatesTSH-30-03-07-14-15 16/3/07 10:42 am Page 1

l l l l l ESTATES

w TWO DAYS IN THE LIFE Go for that wow factor… …but does good design have to break the bank? wonders UCE estates director Graham Rhodes, as he battles with budgets, builders and casts an eye over a blueprint or two

FEBRUARY 12, 2007 2pm–3pm 9am–11am Meeting with our lawyers to confirm that It’s a mid-year budget review with the vice- the building contract can deal with the chancellor next week. He is looking for poor performance of the contractor on a efficiency savings and a three-year strategic major project. The contractor has led us a plan. So it’s brainstorming with my finance merry dance, promising to deal with a list manager and assistant directors. One of defects but failing miserably. It turns out option is to tough it out and claim that no we can have the main contractor off site savings are possible, but that does not while another completes the job. This is seem a good career move. when you appreciate your lawyer, even if After discussion, I make some hard that short meeting probably cost £500. decisions and can go into the meeting 5.30pm–7pm we are perfectly placed to bring life to the offering a 2.5 per cent revenue saving. We are keen to establish a new campus in Eastside urban regeneration area. The There are glum faces as some pet projects the city centre, but we need the support of meeting goes better than expected. and purchases go on the back burner. But the council and the regional development FEBRUARY 13, 2007 the three-year strategic plan was a real agency to secure land. The pro vice- 10am–11am team effort and contains 13 points. I just chancellor and I attend an evening meeting I receive two impressive A3 documents, hope the vice-chancellor is convinced. at the council offices to convince that them feasibility studies on refurbishment Find a partner: join a carbon dating

Universities keen to cut critical in the process of achieving the increasing challenges of the energy market, their carbon footprint can national goal of reducing carbon dioxide assisting with low-cost energy procurement emissions by 20 per cent below 1990 levels and ensuring that activities are compliant join a consortium that by 2010 and by 60 per cent by 2050. with public sector and European Union University managers are increasingly procurement needs. It was initially will help them to minimise aware that they need to take account of supported by member subscriptions, but in their energy costs. energy issues: the 2005 instability in crude 1999 an additional income stream from oil and gas markets saw to that. They are commissions paid by suppliers who won Andrew Fields explains also quick to take up renewable energy tenders from universities was adopted. The sources. Many universities and colleges consortium converted to not-for-profit THE GOVERNMENT’S 2006 climate purchase a proportion of their electricity company status in 2002. change programme put the spotlight requirements from renewables. The process is based on managing on universities in the battle to combat The Energy Consortium (TEC) is a-not-for- tenders for individual member universities. greenhouse emissions and reduce profit organisation with 160 universities Kevin Doyle, TEC chief executive, says: consumption. Each year the sector uses and colleges in membership. It was “We go through EU tendering processes 5.2 billion kWh of energy at a cost of founded at the end of 1989 in response to and operate within a supplier framework more than £200 million, and the the privatisation of the energy markets with agreement.” programme identified universities as the aim of helping members cope with the TEC has commissioned energy market

14 MARCH 30 2007 THE TIMES HIGHER EstatesTSH-30-03-07-14-15 16/3/07 10:43 am Page 2

ESTATES l l l l l

making mental notes of the chips on the woodwork, the dripping tap and the loose paving slab. And I need to entertain them. The last meeting was at Oxford and we did a tour of the Bodleian Library. How do you compete with that? I am panicking, and my PA senses I need help. Within two hours, Mina has sorted it. Even I’m looking forward to it — a tour of the Eastside, the city’s biggest physical regeneration project, then lunch and the business meeting in university’s Technology Innovation Centre at Millennium Point, an iconic Nicholas Grimshaw building. I shall feel no shame in the illustrious company of my colleagues from Warwick, Birmingham and Oxford . 2.30pm–4.30 pm A first meeting of a Bicycle Users Group, or BUG, then a meeting of the Smoking Policy Group. So, support for the healthy lot and then the unhealthy lot. The BUG meeting is chaired by my assistant director, a keen cyclist. Next I join the director of human resources and the health and safety officer to consider how we deal with smokers. We have a total ban on smoking in buildings, but the huddle of staff in doorways has raised complaints from nearby offices and ROY KILCULLEN from visitors. There is no quick fix. We projects. The brief specified minimal costs. and support it. It’s worth it to get the wow recommend a dual approach: to provide The architect’s design ticked all the right factor these buildings desperately need. smoking shelters and a “quit smoking” boxes, the images and perspectives looked 11.30am–12.30pm support programme. We also propose a fantastic — but the price! Architects always The regional meeting of the Association of 5m no-smoking zone around doorways.l tell you that good design does not need to University Directors of Estates is at the end break the bank, then offer you one that of March, and it’s my turn to host. These Graham Rhodes is director of estates, does. But I am going to stick my neck out experts will be eyeing up our buildings, University of Central England. agency that makes a difference

analysts Utylix to assist it to put each The consensus among senior managers than the average. But consultations member’s requirements out to tender. in the sector seems to be that green have just ended on a more rigorous regime Doyle says: “Most contracts in the sector alternatives are more costly than for carbon trading. Two options were are currently fixed price and fixed term. conventional methods of supply. Carbon included in the process: voluntary reporting However, TEC is developing new forms of trading has until now been required for and benchmarking of energy performance, contract that will offer alternative methods only a small number of the largest and an energy performance commitment. of dealing in the energy markets.” The universities. But that is set to change. The Informed opinion suggests that as the consortium is in the process of rolling out first phase of the EU Emission Trading voluntary scheme would be difficult to the idea to the sector. TEC will advise on Scheme runs from 2005 to 2007. It set a administer, the energy performance day-to-day purchases or when to take steps threshold of sites with boilers of 20MWth commitment is more likely to proceed from to head off the effects of a rising market. input capacity and requires monitoring of 2009. Its 3,000MW a year electricity Renewable energy sources and all gas and oil use — and the trading of consumption threshold would, if proposals sustainable development are no longer emissions allowances. are implemented, capture most universities at the opposite end of the spectrum from Some 40 universities fell into the scope of and many colleges. Once the threshold is energy efficiency and careful cost control: the scheme: 32, with 34 sites, joined a reached, all electricity, gas and oil will have the magnitude of climate change has group brought together by TEC. In 2005- to be monitored. l converged with soaring energy costs 06, the group exceeded the emissions and doubts over continuity of supply. limit by 2.3 per cent, 16 per cent less www.tec.bham.ac.uk

THE TIMES HIGHER MARCH 30 2007 15 EstatesTSH-30-03-07-16 16/3/07 11:02 am Page 1

STRATEGIC ESTATE SOLUTIONS

GVA Grimley has over 20 years • Estates Strategy experience in providing advice • Space Needs Assessment to Higher Education institutions • Student Residential during which time we have Operation/Procurement/Disposal/Acquisition advised over two thirds of the • Capital Projects Paul Watson, Partner sector. We are committed to • Development Management London 020 7911 2290 providing strategic sustainable [email protected] advice, and our service offer • Investment Advice includes the following: • Sustainability Advice • Town Planning

0870 900 89 90 www.gvagrimley.co.uk