Sustainability

Situated on the east side of Edinburgh, by Musselburgh, QMU’s innovative new campus exceeds current environmental standards and sets a new benchmark in sustainable design. The development, which opened in 2007, transforms a 35-acre site at Craighall, East Lothian, from low grade farm land into landscaped parkland.

The building design maximises energy efficiency and the landscape design encourages biodiversity. Overall, the new campus building project is regarded as one of Scotland’s most sustainable – having gained a BREEAM* rating of “excellent” (the highest BREEAM score of any university in the UK).

A number of leading environmental technologies are being employed at the site including biomass heating, thin-client computer technology and a sustainable urban drainage system.

From the very outset, the new campus development was designed around the new agendas and technologies of higher education. We set out to “develop a sustainable community for learning and life” The approach was to go beyond worthy statements that often fail to deliver, and to avoid sustainability gimmicks that often result in unnecessary building and maintenance costs.

We called on an independent sustainability consultant (Gaia) to help us define the parameters of the sustainability project and that ensure sustainability would be fully embraced throughout the design process. The design team were also selected on basis of sustainability experience.

Our approach to sustainability focused around:

• using resources effectively
• creating healthy environments
• promoting biodiversity
• managing the process
• supporting communities
• minimising pollution

Targets were set in achieving:

• a low carbon footprint
• biodiversity and a quality external environment
• indoor air quality and daylight
• green travel

*What is BREAAM
For over a decade, the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) has been used to assess the environmental performance of both new and existing buildings. It is regarded by the UK's construction and property sectors as the measure of best practice in environmental design and management.

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