Napier University, Sighthill Campus
1 / Introduction
Edinburgh’s Napier University new Sighthill campus boasts a state of the art Faculty of Health, Life and Social Sciences for 5,000 students and staff. This ambitious, multi-million pound development will not only feature exceptional multi faculty facilities, but also a highly sustainable and low carbon design.
Key facts
- Multi-million pound new campus in Edinburgh
- Several faculties united under one roof for the first time
- BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rated campus
- 20,000 tones of concrete and 3,610m² of glazing used in construction
Related Disciplines
The Project Details
- Client:
Napier University - Architect:
RMJM Associates - Buro Happold services:
Structural engineering building services engineering, ground and fire engineering, infrastructure, specialist services including computer simulation and acoustics
2 / Challenge
The new campus needed to be ICT-enabled, flexible, future-proof and above all, sustainable – with a minimum requirement of 20 percent carbon reduction. The client and the architect therefore needed an exceptional commitment to technology and sustainability during the design phases.
The tight 89-week redevelopment project saw the £60m building delivered within budget last October, right on schedule. To achieve this incredibly demanding timeframe, the design team faced many challenges, including the refurbishment of an existing 1960s block as well as a diverse set of needs for the new buildings, which included a number of facilities from laboratories to mock-hospital wards.
3 / Solution
Our integrated teams worked in close collaboration with RMJM Architects and the client to deliver a low energy solution with a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating, in accordance with Edinburgh’s sustainable planning policy.
It was essential for our engineers to make important decisions about form and orientation early in the design process to achieve the architect’s brief for open spaces and with tough sustainability goals. Helping to meet the carbon reduction targets, the stunning central atrium forms the centre of the new campus, with internal streets leading off in a pavilion arrangement to maximise natural light. To complement this, a low energy cooling strategy was designed to further reduce the campus’ carbon footprint.
Design-wise, the open-plan layout serves to enhance communication and interaction, and so promote learning, while a complex and extensive services zone has been neatly hidden away by minimising the structural depth of the floors. The existing seven-storey building has been converted to offices, which have lower energy emissions than the teaching and laboratory spaces. Following extensive modelling, and with the occupants’ comfort of primary concern, Buro Happold’s low energy strategy here saw the installation of an innovative cross-ventilation system to enhance air flow.
4 / Value
Our sustainable solutions include a site-wide combined heat and power (CHP) plant to save a remarkable 20% on energy usage for the whole development. This alone meets Edinburgh’s low-carbon requirements – but when combined with our other carbon reduction measures, the campus achieves a total energy saving of 40-45% against a similar building.
The team’s work on Napier has far reaching consequences: thanks to these solutions the University will now have more money available to spend on teaching rather than running costs.
