AUDE Research Project: The Legacy of 1960's University Buildings: A guide to assist in making the replace or refurbish decision (LGMF 115) Project completion: March 2008
The Association of University Directors of Estates commissioned research in 2007/8 into one of the big issues in Higher Education estates today – how to renew a very large proportion of the property portfolio that was built in the 1960’s. The project was supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
The key question addressed was: Refurbish or Replace?
Using case studies, alongside investigation into how other sectors have addressed the issues, the research resulted in a report and ‘toolkit’ of helpful advice to assist institutions with the decision making process. A full consideration of sustainability issues was included.
Four Key Points emerged from the Study:
- Academic buildings can often be refurbished more successfully than residential.
- While the financial case for refurbishment might look poor, with costs in some cases as high as 80% of new build, there are often significant other benefits from the refurbishment route, particularly environmental ones.
- High standards of environmental performance can be achieved on refurbishment projects, provided that objective is at the core of the design from the outset.
- Architectural excellence can still be achieved in refurbishment projects.
Outputs from the project, were:
