University of Strathclyde

Gold Award

Images

Videos

Direct link: https://vimeo.com/912220516?share=copy

Company

Summary

HLM Architects are nominating the University of Strathclyde as Client of The Year, both for their enthusiasm and commitment to championing high quality architecture, and for their innovative, ambitious, collaborative, and bold approach to creating sustainable buildings and tackling climate change mitigation at scale.
Our team at HLM has worked with the university on several projects over 20 years. It is however in the last 7 years via a collaborative framework agreement that our team has developed a fantastic working relationship with the University of Strathclyde team. In this period HLM have collaborated with the university on radically low energy and low carbon projects including the University’s first completed net zero carbon (in operation) building completed in 2023, two EnerPHit studies to help radically decarbonize the campus, two major Passivhaus projects amongst the largest of their kind in the UK as part of the climate neutral Glasgow City Innovation District, and a number of refurbishment projects to re-use, re-purpose and prolong the working life of existing University assets.
These collaborations include:
• The £110m Charles Huang Advanced Technology Innovation Centre (CHATIC) and TIC West projects, at RIBA stage 3 designed as the University’s first Passivhaus buildings, achieving BREEAM Outstanding and WELL Silver accreditation.
• Royal College Building, a refurbishment and careful re-use of redundant space within the B-listed building to provide much needed Central Pool Teaching space,
• A proposed EnerPHit retrofit of the former student union building, to create a digital entrepreneurship hub, providing vibrant, flexible, and affordable space, re-using the existing structure and fabric and set to be one of the university’s most sustainable projects,
• The refurbishment of levels 4/5 of the John Anderson building to provide physics teaching space and Quantum research labs, creating a vibrant, internationally competitive centre of activity for Quantum research,
• A major masterplan for the student village which will retrofit over 700 existing residences to EnerPHit standard whilst creating 2,000+ new build high quality student bedrooms to Passivhaus, providing high student experience in a village setting.
It is however the delivery of the £43m NMIS headquarters building which exemplifies the University’s approach and commitment to sustainability and climate change mitigation. Set to be one of Scotland’s leading Institutes with a high public profile, the university set a brief for NMIS to be innovative, ambitious, collaborative, and bold in creating a sustainable building using clean, low carbon infrastructure to meet the climate action ambitions of the University.

Reason for nomination

The NMIS headquarters building exemplifies the University’s approach and commitment to sustainability and climate change mitigation. The completed project is a major innovation building for Scotland delivered and operated by the University and is their first net zero carbon in operation and BREEAM outstanding building. Throughout the process of delivering the NMIS project, the client team has adopted and demonstrated exemplary commitment to: Collaboration & Partnership The University helped drive a collaborative process which involved numerous partners including High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Island Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland, Renfrewshire Council, South of Scotland Enterprise, and the Scottish Funding Council. The University also carefully assembled a collaborative design team via their consultant framework, which was chosen for its collective experience in innovation, higher education, partnership working and sustainability. Innovation The University proactively encouraged the design team at every step to innovate, and to create transformative innovation and impact. Examples of this included material selection such as the use of engineered timber and CLT to create a distinctive diagrid frame, significantly reducing embodied carbon whilst putting engineering expression and innovation on display. Sustainability & Climate Change Mitigation Sustainability and social responsibility are at the core of the University operations and strategic development policies, recognising its impact and potential to influence the environment and lives of its students, staff and neighbours in a local, regional, national and global context. More recent events in terms of Climate Change, Climate Emergency and Net Zero national policies have seen key elements of the University strategy and vision targets be re-cast. The development creates a centre of excellence, not only for industrial innovation but also to exemplify solutions that enable development, societal benefit, and tackle climate change mitigation at scale. The recently completed project is designed to operate without the use of fossil fuels for its energy generation, instead making use of 100% renewable energy, in effect being energy carbon neutral in operation and resilient to the changing climate. The development exemplifies the University’s vision and values and innovates in all that it does, its design delivers a range of climate mitigation and adaptation solutions, and it aligns and positively influences the wider AMIDS site and beyond. The University embraced the understanding that public sector institutions (like universities) need to innovate, plan, and accept some risk to enable ‘at scale’ carbon and climate neutral delivery. As a direct result of the client’s commitment, NMIS’ sustainability highlights include: • EPC A+ rated, BREEAM Outstanding • Net Zero (Regulated) Energy • RIBA 2030 and LETI Net Zero Operational Energy Metrics <55kWh/m2/a (for office/ non-domestic regulated and non-regulated energy based on TM54, client installed equipment with full PV offset), • Embodied Carbon of 1,048KgC02/m2 (A1-C4) and ‘up-front’ value of 843KgC02/m2 (A1-A5). • Heat supply agreement in partnership with Renfrewshire Council, the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP Heat Network Fund) and Scottish Water. • Enabled a 3.5km Ambient district heating loop – using waste heat from the nearly Laigh park Sewage Treatment Works enabling a circular economy approach. The University signed a Heat supply agreement that enabled the ambient heat loop to be realised. This ‘derisked’ the project and enabled funding to be deployed. • Additional funding of university elements such as fabric enhancements and additional PVs via Scottish Funding Council and Salix Finance. As part of their strategic plan and commitment to net zero, the client understood that using waste heat and clean tech is a huge opportunity for Scotland and that there is a genuine need and commitment to work with others to achieve scale and ambition to bring forward large scale climate infrastructure. In essence their collaborative approach has helped de-risk Carbon Neutral Innovation.

Links

https://www.strath.ac.uk/

Photographer

David Barbour - photographs, HLM Architects - visuals