University green building project set to have contractor named

Construction Enquirer reports that Kier is about to be named as the preferred contractor, despite Morgan Sindall having been the favourite to win the job until now.

The new building at the Lansdowne Campus will have 100,000 sq ft of space and will house the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences. This will enable 4,000 students currently based in several different buildings to be brought together under one roof, which will be open to all the university's students and the general public.

As well as providing new academic space, the seven-storey building will also be very green. The project's aim is to achieve the BREEAM Excellent rating.

In setting this as its goal, Bournemouth if furthering its own ambitions of becoming one of the very greenest universities in the UK.

Such buildings can be created using a range of technologies and building techniques, from Passivhaus design to LED lighting and efficient boiler systems. Other green elements in a building can include photovoltaic panels, green roofs and grey water rainfall capture systems. However, the use of good insulation will always be a key element in making any building low carbon or carbon neutral.

According to the People and Planet University League table, Nottingham Trent is currently the greenest university of all. The student-led environmental body placed the Midlands institution top of the league for 2016 after it opened a new campus building that actually absorbs more carbon than it emits.

Bournemouth was 20th in this league table out of 150, meaning it is already in the 'first class honours' group. The new building may raise its placing further.

Reading is another university seeking to get greener. It was 33rd in last year's People and Planet table, putting it in the 2:1 category, but sustainability consultants Brite Green recently awarded it a 'Green Gown' for being the second best university in Britain for reducing its carbon emissions between 2015 and 2016.