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PROJECT LIVING AND LEARNING GREEN The UCT Avenue Road Student Residence has proudly become the first housing project in South Africa to achieve a Green Star rating
Living and learning GREEN
In 1829, the University of Cape Town was the first university to open its doors in South Africa. Almost 200 years later, the UCT Avenue Road student residence has proudly become the first student housing project in the country to achieve a Green Star rating from the GBCSA.
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WORDS Nicole Cameron
Project dates: January - October 2020 Green Star rating: 4-Star Custom Student Residence - Design Location: Middle Campus, UCT, Cape Town Type of building: Student residence
If sustainable development is the next frontier, the University of Cape Town (UCT) Avenue Road Student Residence and Dining Hall, with its 4-Star Green Star Custom Design rating, is a true pioneer. Every area of the design and construction of the residence focuses on sustainable concerns such as energy, carbon emissions, embodied energy, water, healthy spaces for people, ecology, transport and construction management.
“UCT values environmental sustainability and the health and wellness of students and staff – green buildings are resource efficient (they save energy and water), are responsible for less greenhouse gas emissions, tread more lightly on the environment and are healthier for students and staff. These are all very important values to UCT, especially for a space that students will be living and studying in, which is why the green design was so important for this project,” says Manfred Braune, UCT’s director of environmental sustainability.
OLD MEETS NEW
The new residence and dining hall forms part of a larger precinct made up of several buildings, most of which are heritage-protected, explains Gabs Pather, director of Jakupa Architects and Urban Designers. “Some buildings and parts of others were demolished to make way for the new structures, and the placement of the new structures was carefully thought through in order to enhance and control vehicular and pedestrian movement.” All the surrounding heritage buildings and features were retained and protected and incorporated in the overall planning of the site layout.
The residence is conveniently located in Mowbray, with the development forming a backdrop to the existing Avenue and Cadboll House buildings along Avenue Road (part of UCT’s heritage buildings) and creating an edge along Matopo Road. With easy access to upper campus, shops and amenities as well as connections to public transport, students are encouraged to use public transport (such as Jammie Shuttles), non-motorised mobility and the cycling facilities provided, in order to contribute to a lower student carbon footprint. Limited parking acts as a further encouragement to do so. The building is also well located near sporting facilities and university health and wellness services. When it comes to the residence, which accommodates 500 student beds and support facilities, as well as two Warden’s apartments, Pather describes the project’s design concept as being organised around three landscaped courtyards, which allows light into the
An aerial 3D image of the site, with the new residence and dining hall illustrated in grey, as part of the larger precinct.
TRILOGY FORMWORK
Electrical and Electronic Engineers with Specialised expertise in student accommodation. We adhere to the minimum norms and standards for student housing as set out by the Higher Education Act and strive to include sustainable energy practices in our designs.
BUILDING SERVICES
The full scope of electrical & electronic engineering services
Energy audits
Smart metering design & implementation
Data management
Automation and control
Building management systems
Structured cabling & wifi designs
Low-carbon materials such as ground granulated blastfurnace slag were used in the building's concrete structure.
inner-perimeter of the building strips. The dining hall is a column-free, multi-functional, 536-seater main dining area, supported by a foyer, toilets, a preparation kitchen and serving spaces. It is near the new residence building and adjacent to the existing University House residence, which it also caters for. “The dining hall roof and the way the high-level windows allow light into the space is one of the project’s highlights for us as a team,” says Pather.
A further highlight, he says, is how the residence’s external courtyards have been designed to be sunken lounges, with the trees seats, benches and planters making them inviting spaces in which students can gather together to relax and socialise. Landscape architect Herman de Lange adds that a combination of indigenous water-wise and low-maintenance plant and tree species define the space as well as complement the architecture. “An outdoor gym has also been installed as a functional element within the landscape,” he says.
A SUSTAINABLE START
Getting things off to a green start meant using lowcarbon materials such as GGBS (Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag) in the building’s concrete structure to reduce the amount of virgin cement, and the use ►►
NEW GREEN BUILDINGS AT UCT
Project
New Lecture Theatre GSB Academic Conference Centre Avenue Road Residence & Dining Hall School of Education
d-school
Nelson Mandela School of Governance
Building use
Teaching
Teaching and conference centre Student residence
Teaching and administration
Teaching and administration
Teaching, administration, conference and public exhibition
Location
Upper Campus
GSB Campus (Breakwater Campus, V&A) Middle Campus
Middle Campus
Middle Campus
Upper Campus / SANParks
Green Star rating
Green Star Public and Education Buildings Design v1 Green Star Public and Education Buildings Design v1 Green Star Custom Student Residence Design
Green Star Public and Education Buildings Design v1 targeting Green Star Public and Education Buildings Design v1 targeting Targeted rating not yet confirmed
Date of completion
2014
April 2019
Completed. Open for 2021 student intake Construction to start late 2020
Construction to start late 2020
Construction start not yet confirmed
The placement of the new structures was carefully thought through in order to enhance and control vehicular and pedestrian movement.
of recycled steel. Sustainability consultant Alison Groves of WSP explains that at least 50% of all timber came from sustainable sources, and carbon emissions associated with construction were reduced by sourcing products and materials from within 50km of the site. All construction activities followed strict guidelines with regards to protecting the environment and preventing construction waste from going to landfill.
As residences are the university’s biggest users of water, the infrastructure ensures that all sanitary fittings are water efficient, with low-flow showerheads and taps and dual-flush toilets. “The taps in basins ►►
Ceilings, Partitions & Turnkey Project Management
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CUBICLE SOLUTIONS, MANUFACTURERS OF 100% WATER RESISTANT, DURABLE AND ROBUST TOILET CUBICLES, SHOWER CUBICLES, LOCKERS, BENCHES, LOCKER-BENCH COMBINATIONS AND URINAL SCREENS. TOILET & SHOWER CUBICLES
We combine design flexibility with affordable costs by providing a tailor-made toilet and shower cubicle system for toilet, shower and changing room applications.
LOCKERS
Our locker features include excellent resistance to impact and mechanical stresses, they are 100% water resistant, unaffected by high humidity, corrosive environments and easy to clean and maintain.
LOCKER/BENCH AND BENCH COMBINATIONS
Our locker/bench combinations are space saving and multi-functional offering storage and seating combined, and our benches are made to measure with flexible styles, offering seating durability in any high traffic environment.
Three 10 000 insulated insulated 600kPa hot water storage vessels with zero power consumption.
SIRAC
Four high-efficiency 90kW Sirac Core environmentfriendly R410a heat pumps provide the water heating for the facility.
provided to each bedroom offer a cold-water supply only, with a centralised heat pump plant producing hot water that is circulated to bathrooms and kitchenettes using a ring main system,” says Groves. “This prevents water wastage from ‘dead legs’ in the system.” There is also a partial greywater system, with a borehole on site which would allow the building to continue to operate using ground water, in a drought scenario (depending on the water quality). Under normal conditions it would revert to municipal supply. Water-efficient kitchen appliances and fittings are installed in the industrial kitchen, and water-wise smart irrigation is used to water the equally water-wise planted landscape.
To keep energy output to a minimum, the design ensures that all bedrooms have openable windows that
Sirac provided the water pumps for the project [pictured]. Coldwater booster pump set provides pressurised potable water for hot and cold water throughout the facility.
allow fresh air, natural light and views to the outdoors. There is mechanical ventilation and extraction to areas such as some of the lounges, the workshop, the
In addition to providing 144 single rooms and 173 double rooms, the building has 12 universal access rooms, six of which offer assisted living for students with disabilities.
laundry and waste room area, and lighting in common areas such as passages and lounges are switched using occupancy sensors.
A SPACE FOR EVERYONE
In addition to providing 144 single rooms and 173 double rooms, the building has 12 universal access rooms, six of which offer en-suite assisted living facilities for students with disabilities. While three other UCT residences have been retrofitted to provide similar facilities, this is a first for a new residence. The planning for this starts at the road entrance to the residence, with parking in 3.5m-wide disability bays; ramps into the residence for mobility-impaired students; tactile way-finding; and accessible door handles, window handles and plug points in all rooms.
“The fact that the building caters extensively for people with disabilities speaks to a very important value for UCT, of ensuring that this new green space is inclusive and that students from all walks of life can enjoy it,” says Braune. The residence will be ready for the 2021 student intake and is one of a few other design and construction projects in planning at the moment, of which three are new buildings and will also be targeting Green Star ratings. The School of Education and the d-school are both middle campus projects due to start construction in late 2020, with the d-school targeting a 6-Star rating and the School of Education targeting a 4-Star rating. The third significant project in early planning stage is the Nelson Mandela School of Governance adjacent to Upper Campus, which is at urban planning stage and will likely go through an architectural competition in the next 12 months or so. “We are excited and proud to think that approximately 500 students will every year be living in a healthier built environment than they are likely to experience at home, where most South African families have not been in a position to have a green home,” says Braune. “These students will be able to learn about what a green building is by living in such a building; and hopefully go on to be sustainable stewards of the future.”
An outdoor gym has been installed as a functional element within the landscape.
