Sustainable Estate

The potential of the existing estate – lessons learnt
Christoph Ackermann, Architect Principal, BDP

This talk is a revisit of a presentation given in 2019 'Re-using the existing estate'. In 2019 we discussed how existing buildings can be adapted and reused successfully for education. The presentation focussed on Marr College and the Learning and Teaching Building of the University of Strathclyde which was under construction at the time. Both buildings are now in use and demonstrate that existing buildings can be successfully reused, improving the learning environment while also dramatically reducing the amount of embodied carbon (67% in the case of the Learning and Teaching Building).
The presentation will focus on the lessons learnt when undertaking such projects, what worked well and which areas are challenging. Overall the projects have been lauded by the client, users and industry, including winning a number of sustainability awards and an AJ retrofit award.

Early Years East Ayrshire POE: An Inside and Outside perspective
Siobhan McGale, Architect, East Ayrshire Council & Felicity Steers, Director, erz landscape architects

East Ayrshire Council have delivered every typology of nursery space imaginable in an energetic bid to fulfil and exceed the EY2020 requirements. From tiny retrofits on old access roads, to state of the art passivhaus newbuilds, East Ayrshire Council has led the way in investment in nature based and environmentally sound solutions for getting children outdoors and meeting the needs of the Space to Grow guidance. This talk will showcase 5 inspiring case studies for newbuilds and retrofits on challenging sites, showing how an imaginative response can make even the trickiest corners, inside and outside, useful for education and play. The case studies will be presented by architect Siobhan McGale of East Ayrshire Council and Felicity Steers of erz landscape architects.