New College Durham

Background & Context

The College was previously on two sites. Buildings dated from 1950s to 1970s and were unfit for purpose. It was not possible to meet required standards of disabled access (in particular one of the libraries was not accessible to wheelchair users), maintenance costs were high and it was not possible to provide the desired standard of security. The main driver was however the educational case of creating a flexible and attractive learning environment.

The new campus was built on the larger of the two existing sites whilst the site was occupied. Moves between buildings were phased and no part of the site was untouched. The move had aspects of a merger since the two sites had been very separate with little staff movement between them.

The College is a 'mixed economy' institution and offers FE and HE level provision in an area that has one of the lowest progression rates into HE in the North East region (although this is not true of the College itself). The College has a primarily rural catchment that is also characterised by low rates of car and PC ownership.

The development is a full new campus for provision covering a wide range of vocational and academic qualifications at FE and HE level.

New College Durham wanted a campus of the 21st century that had to be 'aspirational'. The aim was not however to design a building that would win awards (although it was shortlisted for a RIBA award). The emphasis was on the activities that went on inside and how they were integrated. The Principal describes it as being built 'from the inside out'.

They wanted a campus environment in which students of all ages and levels of study feel comfortable. The campus is designed around 'malls'. They used the metaphor of shopping malls and airports as modern public spaces where learners would feel comfortable.

Spaces are designed for multiple uses e.g. the malls are circulation space, student social space, exhibition and event space. The training restaurant is used for online enrolment at the start of the year. The call centre real work environment doubles as a PC lab.

Areas are zoned to reflect vocational focus rather than segregated. Spaces for practical learning, including areas such as motor vehicle and construction, link directly off the malls making a statement about valuing all learners equally. The zoning has helped rationalise previously disparate areas that require the same services such as gas and food storage e.g., the life skills area for people with learning difficulties is next to the training kitchen.

There are no separate staff recreation areas and not even the Principal has a designated parking space.

Student work is displayed in the corridors to give a feel for the curriculum and to avoid students feeling 'lost' in a big building. Colour coding also aids those with a visual impairment and gives a sense of identity. The public can enter the malls to see drama performances and shop in the real work environments such as the hairdressing salon or travel shop. Services for students are also conveniently located on the mall by the main entrance.

The principle of creating a campus for a wide range of learners and valuing them all equally is embodied in the design.

Sustainability features prominently in the College estate strategy. The new build includes a range of environmentally friendly features such as:

• High thermal insulation and acoustic standards
• Minimum energy consumption
• Minimum water consumption and rain water harvesting
• Minimum C02 and greenhouse gas emissions
• Maximum use of daylight whilst minimising solar gain

The College however recognises that sustainability is about more than good building design and has a comprehensive sustainability strategy covering:

• Ethics and values
• Institutional policy, practice and governance
• Building and Estates design and efficient running
• Effective use of resources
• Leadership and management
• Staff development
• Curriculum development
• Health
• Procurement and Fair Trade
• Engagement with employers
• Engagement with local community groups

New College Durham instigated a Value Engineering approach when a 'guaranteed maximum price' estimate came out significantly higher than expected and believes they got a lot of benefit from this. They reduced suggested desk sizes and furniture specifications for short stay open access IT areas. In other areas they increased costs to make future savings e.g. spray mixer taps cost only £4k more but will save on water bills.