The Campus Plan supports the SDF by shaping the physical setting in which GEInBil’s activities take place and guiding where and how future campus facilities will be developed over the next 10 years and beyond. The campus plan does not address detailed operational strategies, but rather provides strategic guidance, vision, and design direction for the physical development of the campus and highlights key principles of sustainability and community engagement which will inform its implementation.
GEInBil’s progressive and paradigm shifting educational vision must be supported and reinforced by architecture, landscape, and campus design which reflect this vision and provide an environment for creativity and innovation. The experience of the physical environment of GEInBil should be an educational and cultural experience for students, teachers, the local community and visitors. Environmental, social and economic sustainability principles drive the overall SDF of GEInBil and its educational mission. The campus plan aims to support this through building a sustainable, carbon zero campus which adapts, reuses and integrates existing facilities and is a learning laboratory for sustainability solutions. The campus will also demonstrate and enhance awareness of sustainable design and building both locally and nationally.
The following vision guides the campus plan:
Vision: An environmentally sustainable, contextually distinctive and cost-effective campus that provides an optimal environment for teaching and learning; impacts positively on the local community; and meets the short and long term requirements of GEInBil.
1. A sustainable campus.
2. Campus facilities designed as a learning laboratory for sustainability.
3. An enabling environment for education to attract and retain quality students and teaching staff
4. Maximum community engagement and impacts from campus construction and operation, to act as a catalyst for sustainable development, and improved quality of construction in the region.
5. A phased development of the campus.
A Campus Manager will be recruited to manage all aspects of the campus operations.
1. A sustainable campus
The campus is designed to integrate all aspects of sustainability. Not only will building a green school, minimise its impact on the environment, it will also be a tangible example of environmental stewardship and demonstrate to students, teachers and the wider community, that something can be done, inspiring a generation of future green leaders.
Key ways in which the campus plan seeks to achieve these sustainability objectives are presented below.
Adaptive reuse of existing buildings:
The existing buildings that form the current GEInBil campus are of a poor standard. The new campus is designed to adapt and reuse existing facilities to reduce environmental impacts, either through renovation and rehabilitation of existing buildings where practical or through reuse of building materials from existing buildings. All new buildings will be designed and constructed to be energy efficient and reduce emissions, conserve water, reduce energy and water consumption and maintenance requirements; provide in-house recycling areas; and improve livability. New buildings and renovations will meet the certification requirements for LEED Platinum Standard (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Buildings, landscapes and infrastructure will work closely together in the future as buildings begin to harvest more rainwater and energy, and water management is integrated into the landscape, and treated for human consumption.
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Passive design strategies
Passive design strategies will be used to reduce reliance on mechanical systems for heating, cooling, and lighting by harnessing naturally occurring phenomena, such as the power of the sun and wind to maintain consistent indoor temperatures, and maximize fresh air, daylight use and comfort. Campus buildings will be designed to optimize passive cooling strategies through shading, using naturally occurring air flow patterns for passive ventilation and storing heat in thermal mass .
Use of sustainable building materials
New campus buildings will be constructed using natural, sustainable and locally available building materials such as mud which will be used to make rammed earth and bamboo for roof, trellis, and shelter construction. Earth is a material that can be found freely in nature, most often on the building site itself, and is completely recyclable and sustainable. The process of rammed earth building creates walls with high thermal mass properties and minimizes the consumption of energy for preparation, transport and building. Bamboo is also a rapidly renewable and sustainable material which is found locally. Bamboo is strong, lightweight and durable when treated with a preservative such as boric acid. In view of its rapid growth, exceeding most fast growing woods, a ready adaptability to most climatic conditions and superior properties to most juvenile fast growing wood, bamboo is a very suitable alternative. The use of earth and bamboo as primary building materials will allow the use of low-energy construction techniques and represent low embodied energy materials. By reusing existing buildings and using primarily natural, local and sustainable building materials and design, the sustainability principles of reduce, reuse and recycle will automatically be designed into the building’s construction and operation.
Architect: Farouk Noormohamed , Principal, FNDA Architecture Inc.
Interior Design : Farida Noormohamed , Principal, FNDA Architecture Inc.
Interior Design : Alia Noormohamed , Principal, FNDA Architecture Inc.