Building a sustainable campus
How we’re building a sustainable campus
While we're continually investing in and developing new campus buildings, that doesn’t mean sustainability has to take the back seat. As well as evaluating the potential to re-use existing sites before developing on greenfield sites, all of The University of Warwick’s newest buildings from the last seven years have been fitted with photovoltaic (PV) solar panels that generate green electricity. Projects are being developed with a consciousness of the University’s plans to achieve net-zero carbon from direct emissions by 2030.
The Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building (IBRB) is Warwick’s most environmentally sustainable building on campus to date. By adopting offsite construction and modern methods, the contractors were able to reduce product build time to just 87 weeks, which is significantly quicker than a comparable project using traditional methods. The factory build environment allowed for better quality control and fewer site deliveries, ensuring the local roads were much quieter.
The project included the installation of over 390 vertical PV solar panels, offsetting approximately 4,600kg CO2 emissions, and the use of Willmott Dixon’s Energy SynergyTM. Essentially, this process predicts and monitors energy consumption, so they can bridge any performance gaps, drive down operational costs, and save energy.
The Sports and Wellness Hub is another building that has reduced energy use through extensive monitoring after it has become operational. Using the Energy SynergyTM process, like the IBRB does, there’s been a carbon saving of 98,520 kgCO2e in the past year. This has enabled the Sports Hub to become the most energy efficient leisure centre in the UK, performing 27.5% better than CIBSE’s Energy Benchmark.
The Faculty of Arts Building and the Cryfield Village are two examples of projects that have made use of previously developed spaces.
The Faculty of Arts Building occupies the space previously taken up by a multi-storey car park, and the building’s foundations make use of the car park’s recycled concrete too. This saved significant materials. A low carbon cement substitute was also used in the concrete frame, saving an estimated 264.8 tonnes of carbon compared to using cement.
Like all new buildings on campus built in the last seven years, the FAB has solar panels installed on the roof to generate electricity. Similarly, the Cryfield Village residences (which have replaced a previous student accommodation) are fitted with 151 photovoltaic panels, providing over 36,000 kWh of energy per year – this is enough to provide electricity for ten family homes!
The sustainability benefits
- Installing photovoltaic solar panels on all our new buildings means we can produce green, renewable electricity and reduce our reliance on non-renewable sources.
- Completing building constructions in a shorter time and constructing offsite will reduce carbon emissions, congestion on roads, and improve quality control.
- Re-using spaces previously taken up by out-of-use buildings, rather than constructing on green spaces, means we can continue to protect and improve biodiversity on campus and reduce our negative environmental impact.
- Adopting the Energy SynergyTM process means we can reduce carbon emissions and improve the energy efficiency of our buildings. With our Sports and Wellness Hub becoming the most energy efficient leisure centre in the UK, hopefully we can influence other universities and businesses to adopt similar building construction methods.