Stantec’s sustainability specialists Caimin McCabe and Cormac Kelly say green design can be a “secret weapon” to attract top academic talent and the most environmentally conscious generation of students, while also driving down emissions.
Australia’s universities have challenged design conventions for decades – think RMIT’s Storey Hall, UTS’s Dr Chau Chak Wing Building or SAHMRI, the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute.
But the biggest challenge ahead for universities is to achieve net zero emissions while attracting a generation of students that are more comfortable learning on the lounge with their laptops than in the lab or lecture theatre.
“As universities continue to adapt and evolve their business models, bricks-and-mortar buildings play an important role in attracting students, and just as importantly, talented academic staff,” says McCabe, Stantec Principal and Sustainability Project Engineer.
“Sustainable buildings are learning laboratories that can help universities create authentic educational experiences that are far richer than those found in textbooks or Zoom rooms,” adds Cormac Kelly, Stantec’s Associate Director and Sustainability Section Manager.
Students want climate action reflected in their tertiary education and 92% of the 7,000 surveyed for an international study in 2020 expected universities and colleges to actively pursue sustainable development.
Last year, the Times Higher Education survey found 79% of students believe universities had important role to play in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Many of Australia’s leading institutions are stepping up their sustainability efforts. The University of Wollongong’s Sustainable Buildings Research Centre recently achieved full marks under the world’s toughest sustainability standard for buildings, the Living Building Challenge. The university hopes the building will become a “haven” for research and industry collaborations that make all buildings sustainable.
Stantec worked on Curtin University’s heritage-listed 137 St George Terrace building. Stantec’s sustainability team helped Curtin University to achieve a 6 Star Green Star rating for its interior fitout, driving down greenhouse gas emissions by 41% on business as usual.
“The approach to sustainable design included a lifecycle analysis that guided material selection, creating learning and teaching spaces that are sustainable and state-of-the-art from a wellbeing point of view,” McCabe explains.
Kelly says many of Stantec’s best university projects demonstrate that sustainable buildings don’t need to be new, pointing Monash University’s Building 17 at its Clayton campus.
“Constructed in 1968, Building 17 had a cracked façade, damaged roof and services long past their use-by date when we undertook structural and thermal performance analysis,” Kelly says. An insulated panel curtain wall system, using innovative non-flammable glass reinforced concrete cast into triangular 3D forms, was installed. This created a striking aesthetic and could be installed while the building was fully operational.
“The result is a 24% reduction in the heating and cooling load, as well as a 17% increase in natural daylight which makes the building a better place to work and learn,” Kelly adds.
Finally, La Trobe University’s $100 million student accommodation project at its Bundoora campus aimed to provide 600-plus beds across two buildings to enrich the student experience. Constructed in cross-laminated timber, the pair of buildings embrace sustainability in everything from the passive design to the reduction in embodied carbon which delivered a 5 Green Star As Built rating. The building’s design synergies work together to leave a greener, more sustainable legacy.
“As universities grapple with how to address climate change, attract the world’s best academics and cater to a generation of socially aware students, sustainable design ticks all three boxes,” McCabe concludes.