College Opens Low Carbon Footprint Campus

The new campus for the John Wheatley College in the east end of Glasgow has opened on time and within budget.

The building was designed by ABK Architects and Buro Happold.

The John Wheatley College building has been designed as an exemplar low carbon, further education campus building and sets new standards in energy efficiency and sustainable design.

The project incorporates key features to help achieve the design team’s aim to create a highly sustainable building, including exposed thermal mass, extensive use of natural ventilation, façade shading and natural daylighting.


The extensive natural daylighting and natural ventilation forms part of the environmental strategy, and features wind controlled exhaust chimneys from the classrooms to achieve a passive controlled indoor climate.

In terms of renewable energy, the following systems have been implemented within the building:

• Biomass heating systems throughout;
• Wind driven exhaust ventilation for classrooms;
• Solar collectors, to provide heating for the domestic hot water systems;
• ETFE foil roof lined with photovoltaic cells;
• Air to air heat pumps, for underfloor heating;
• Rainwater harvesting systems, collecting rainwater for toilet flushing.

Buro Happold Partner Rod Manson, said: "John Wheatley College sets new standards in terms of both energy demand and carbon emissions and our post occupancy evaluation process will enable further benchmarking to be obtained during the operation of the building."

(CD)