To achieve sustainable design, material selection, and construction are no different to those required to achieve any other aspect of good design. The process relies on an understanding of the potential environmental issues, to compliment and contextualise what is already known among these professional experts.
Sustainable construction has straightforward aims: to minimise waste on and off site; reuse materials and make use of those reused or recycled; avoid complex components that are difficult to recycle at end of life; and choose construction systems that can be delivered by local operatives by existing or new skill sets.
Design is a holistic process that seeks to create the best solution across a broad range of requirements, which includes social and economic sustainability as well as environmental responsibility. A good designer will always look first at exploiting the opportunities of the site and the client's brief to produce a building which, as far as possible, works passively to minimise energy and resource use. The next step is to incorporate technologies for minimising resource demand that are appropriate to the site, the building occupants’ needs and their capacity to manage and operate them. Also, designing to enable future change of use, easy maintenance, and eventual disassembly and reuse will lengthen the lifespan of a building and minimise its overall impact.
EAUC-Scotland's Sustainable Construction Topic Support Network (TSN) is open to all, providing an opportunity for those working in or with the further and higher education sector to share ideas and questions and to get together to hear from particular speakers or discuss topics of interest.
Soft landings: Keeping it REAL At the University of the West of England (UWE) Bristol, Soft Landings is all about keeping it REAL: Realistic – Embedded – Active...
The Enterprise Centre: Celebrating localism and low carbon futures at UEA The University of Anglia’s (UEA) Enterprise Centre (TEC) is one of the UK’s most...
Sustainable refurbishment of the Cockcroft Building, University of Brighton In repurposing the Cockcroft Building for the University of Brighton, one of the largest retrofits...
Actively reducing energy use by going ‘passive’ Presented with the challenge of building a fit-for-purpose, early-years childcare facility for the children of its...
ESRI - The Energy Safety Research Institute – The first BREEAM OUTSTANDING Educational Building in Wales The Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI) is a 3900m2,...
Mainstreaming sustainability South Lanarkshire College, East Kilbride, constructed the first building in the UK accredited as “Outstanding” BREEAM (2014) for...
“The Pavilion” Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is one of the largest and most popular universities in the UK. Nearly 27,000 students study with us across three...
AECOM, in partnership with the EAUC, delivered this webinar looking at how higher and further education organisations can integrate their findings from climate change risk...
This webinar, first presented on the 20th July 2016, is the second of two adaptation presentations delivered by Adaptation Scotland. Part one provided an introduction to...
This guide, written by AOSEC (Association of South East Colleges) is a product of Building for the Future - an inter-regional collaboration, part-funded by the GROW EU...
This webinar, first presented on the 13th July 2016, is one of two adaptation presentations delivered by Adaptation Scotland as part of the three-part EAUC-Scotland...
This webinar took place on 30th June 2016, with the video providing an introduction to the Carbon Scenario Tool background, structure and capabilities, and a live demonstration...
This Exchange presentation is from the “Learning and Legacy: The Role of Education in Creating Healthier and Happier Cities” EAUC Annual Conference 2016, presented...
This Exchange presentation is from the “Learning and Legacy: The Role of Education in Creating Healthier and Happier Cities” EAUC Annual Conference 2016, presented...
In October 2011, Bryce Hutchinson, Senior Building Information Officer, from the Facilities Management Operations department of the University of Technology in Sydney approached...
Dan Fernbank, Energy Manager, University of Reading posted the following message on the Members’ network. “We’re currently reviewing our application of...
To say Liverpool Hope University’s hospitality and catering department has gone through a period of change over the last five years would be something of an...
This example is from Interface's Net-Works programme, an inclusive business model that collects discarded fishing nets from coastal communities and recycles them.
The students arriving on campus these days are very discerning. Their goals differ from those of the previous generations. And they bring a strong sense of community,...
Interface, global modular flooring manufacturer, and Dulux Trade, leading paint manufacturer, were enlisted to help to bring to life the industrial...
Global modular flooring manufacturer, Interface, has helped Birmingham City University (BCU) create a contemporary, open-plan culture for its...
“£5 billion spent on new buildings each year, these buildings use 2-3x more energy than designed” - 2014 Green Construction Board Report Building on...
In April 2016, EAUC-Scotland invited Adaptation Scotland to run a workshop on Adaptation aimed specifically at Scottish universities and colleges. The workshop was designed to...
Andrew Bryers, Energy, Environment and Sustainability Manager, Aston University emailed the Members’ network asking, “As you may have read in an earlier email to...
Sustainability is one of the key enablers for UCL’s large scale transformation program as it undertakes a major refurbishment and expansion of its estate.
Part of the ambition of the School of Ponts Paris Tech to "be the world reference for research, innovation and training in key areas of sustainable development", the...
Think global, act local! Become an ambassador in sustainable construction and save the climate. The program Bachelor in Construction attaches great importance to...
On Thursday 10th December 2015, the EAUC-Scotland Sustainable Construction and Education for Sustainable Development in Further Education Topic Support Networks met at South...
In response to growing ethical concerns, the construction industry is rightly being called upon to take a stand and articulate its position on ethical sourcing. Coming up with...
This tour of the 'University of Edinburgh's Sustainable Energy Centre' was given as an afternoon workshop at the EAUC-Scotland Conference 2015 by David...
This presentation on 'The Green Vented Salon' was given as part of a morning workshop on Living Labs at the EAUC-Scotland Conference 2015 by Christina...
The 2015 Green Gown Awards Winners’ Brochure which explores the journeys all these institutions have taken.
The Winners' Brochure for the International Green Gown Awards 2015 which brings together the finalists and winners of these Awards which are growing globally.
University of Tasmania IMAS Building: more than just a building The IMAS building was constructed to provide a contemporary new home for the Institute for Marine and...
The GreenSkills Training Centre is an award-winning catalyst for change in the built environment. A training facility for students studying sustainability courses, it is the...
This case study shares more about the University of Aberdeen's new passive house nursery.
When refurbishing the Water Sciences Department at Cranfield University, Tracy Flynn, Development Project Manager, wanted to create a flexible space that would provide staff and...
The University of East Anglia's Enterprise Centre is targeting Passivhaus and BREEAM Outstanding, has created new industry locally and nationally, and has made...
The Higher Education Carbon Challenge report gives an overview some of the trends in carbon emissions and carbon performance of UK higher education institutions.
Since 2012, the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge has been developing LED lighting capable of growing a wide range of plants under controlled...
Creative Energy Homes: Low-Energy and Zero-Carbon Housing – a living test-site for energy efficient technologies A long-term development of seven “Creative Energy...
In the past decade, The University of Dundee has seen a lot of redevelopment taking place on campus. Green space has been created right at its heart with the new Campus Green, a...
With a 10 year construction programme about to start, UCL took a new approach to managing deliveries on its heavily constrained Bloomsbury campus
The sensitive and beautiful restoration of historic Drake’s Place Gardens and Reservoir, and development of related activities, has been undertaken with - rather than for...
In 2014/15 investments of £2.1m have covered a range of technologies and buildings, including plant replacement (boilers and chillers), lighting upgrades including main campus...
The street lighting infrastructure at Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh Campus included several hundred high pressure sodium (SON) lamps with ageing control gear.
Crome Court is UEA’s newest and most energy-efficient accommodation block. The BREEAM Excellent project came in £800,000 under budget, and as one of the first projects in...
The Brighton Waste House is the first permanent carbon negative public building in Europe to be constructed from approximately 90% waste and surplus material
The Bright Building is a unique sustainable building using innovative construction techniques and technologies
In 2013, 50 Shakespeare St was a building on death’s door. It was built in 1887, damaged during the war and butchered by decades of use by the local council as a registry...