University challenge

University students today have high demands. Required to pay for their higher education, their expectations have, not surprisingly, risen. The University of Hertfordshire is meeting this challenge head on. It has just invested in one of the largest campus developments in UK education for 50 years to create the de Havilland campus.

Constructed close to Hatfield town centre and around a mile from the University's existing campus on one of the largest brownfield sites in southern England, it is also the most significant higher education campus development in Europe for 20 years. This campus has everything students need for a balanced work-life existence on site.

The 1600-student accommodation consists of en suite rooms with internet and intranet connections, data cabling to Category 5e, plus satellite tv and aerial connections. There is an auditorium seating 460 for music and theatre, plus a sports centre built to Sport England's standards. And that's before students step near one of the lecture theatres.

But it's not only the student facilities that make this a campus for the 21st century. The way it was constructed was very much up-to-date.

Campus construction
The campus was effectively divided into two halves for the construction. The accommodation blocks, sports centre and adjoining refectory made up one half; the academic buildings and auditorium formed the second half.

This clear distinction between the academic and other buildings carried through to the financial backing for the scheme. The academic blocks were developed under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement as a major Higher Education Pathfinder project. The non-academic half of the campus was constructed as a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme – the first scheme in the university sector to be financed by a project bond.

The two areas were constructed simultaneously, with distinct boundaries, but crossovers were necessary, especially on the m&e services and these were eased by the teams involved. "There was a boundary fence between the two sites, but there was very good rapport between the site teams and very close co-ordination along the boundaries of the site to make sure it all tied in together," explains Chris Donald, project manager for Amec Building and Facilities Services Bristol. "Because Carillion Specialist Services and Carillion Building were the two main contractors, there was a very good rapport between the two site teams."

The Carillion divisions were split between the PFI and PPP projects, which eased construction. "Contractually it came under different remits, but everyone worked together," says Donald.

The project has a long history, being conceived over seven years ago. Professor Tim Wilson, the university's vice-chancellor explains: "We looked at our university in the mid-1990s and realised that we had to look quite seriously at the University of Hertfordshire in the 21st century. We started envisaging at that stage what a 21st century campus should look like."

The University formed an agreement with Arlington Developments to take an option to build the campus on the former Hatfield aerodrome site. In 1999 it began working in close partnership with architect RMJM to complete a master plan for the site. "We sought to create an integrated campus," explains Wilson. A vital part of the plan was the requirement to have clear links with existing developments in the area.

The first phase was procured through a development agreement between the University and Arlington Property Developments, with whom RMJM completed the detailed design and tender documentation. RMJM then prepared the production information for Carillion Building.

Initially Arlington and the University jointly selected key members of the professional team for the project. The master plan and a draft scheme for the campus were agreed and a formal development agreement to deliver the scheme at an agreed cost was signed in June 2000. Prior to work starting on site in November 2001, the detailed design, costing and planning consent stages were undertaken. During these key stages the professional team and University agreed the design, building certainty into the development programme.

Amec Building and Facilities Services Bristol carried out the m&e services design and installation for the academic buildings, working with project architect RMJM. One of Arlington Developments' preferred contractors, it won the contract in a limited tender competition. Basic floor sizes, plans, general room layouts, temperature conditions and lighting levels were provided and the contractors put proposals together on this basis before undertaking an interview with the principal team. "It was on the basis of the interview as well as the proposals that we were awarded the contract," says Donald.

The academic scheme comprises: two linear, four-storey teaching blocks, which have shared teaching facilities and lecture theatres between; a three-storey learning resources centre that consists of the main library and computer facilities; and the auditorium. The main structure has a flat slab concrete soffit, with raised access floors but no suspended ceilings.

Student services
Energy efficiency was a primary component of the m&e services design. The teaching blocks are cooled primarily by natural ventilation, and low energy T5 lamps have been used extensively throughout the buildings.

Natural ventilation was not possible in the learning resource centre due to the high heat output created by the large number of computers in this building. The building is open plan, with two wings that accommodate a 3500 m3 library and study rooms. These are linked by a full-height central atrium that provides access to the ground floor. "The IT facilities are phenomenal," stresses Donald. "There are data points throughout all of the floor areas." The flood wiring involved installation of "in the region of 9-11 000 outlets".

The building has a plantroom in each wing. These feed a services bulkhead, which in turn serves a mix of active and passive, ceiling-mounted, chilled beams in the computer and library areas.

"Everything is based on 90° to the services bulkhead," explains Donald. "It was something that was developed with the architect...they didn't want to have suspended ceilings throughout. The floor-to-ceiling height was specified and it was a no-no to encroach on any height."

All air handling plant is fitted with thermal wheels for recirculation. "You're not just bringing in direct air from the outside and heating that all the time, you're recirculating a percentage of the air, which is done through the control systems. A mixture of fresh air and recirculated air keeps down on the energy consumption," explains Donald.

Saving time improving services
With a tight 12 month installation and commissioning schedule set for the m&e services, press-fit and off-site prefabrication were used to save on site time. The most successful time-saving process here, though, was the use of an underfloor bracketing system.

With no false ceilings, the majority of m&e services are distributed under raised floors. Amec's solution involved fitting proprietary brackets that clamp onto the pedestal legs of the flooring across a 600 mm bay. The electrical services are then suspended from the top of the bracket and the mechanical services underneath. "It means you can get the m&e services all within the same zones," explains Donald, "and there is no drilling of the slab. The slab can be sealed prior to any of the m&e services going in."

This was the first project on which Amec has used the system, and the project team has suggested it as a labour-saving device and programming benefit for future Amec projects with services under raised access floors.

  In the learning resource centre, the ductwork and pipework was prefabricated onto a frame off site; this was limited to a one-floor trial exercise due to time limitations. Donald explains: "There was a brief for clear floor-to-ceiling heights and co-ordination of the ductwork, pipework and recessed lighting into a confined space – prefabricating up a frame was quite a task."

Amec split the installation teams into buildings, with separate mechanical and electrical supervisors in each. The decision was made to keep operatives working in the same buildings throughout to ensure the learning process was minimised and the team was based on site from an early stage. Weekly progress meetings were held with Carillion and Donald reports close co-ordination with the other construction teams involved. To ensure that all parties were kept up to date a web-based server was used to maintain the flow of information. The pc-based package, Bidcom, was available to all of the contractors via ISDN connections in their site cabins. "It was used for general administration, but predominantly it was to keep the flow of drawing information going because of the comment periods between all of the different disciplines and parties."

The campus opened for the academic term in September 2003, ready to help the next generation of students meet their goals.