The newly designed 312,000-sf Loyola University Campus in Seville, Spain has become the world’s first integrated campus to receive LEED Platinum, the highest environmental rating by the U.S. Green Building Council. The multipurpose facility, which also aims to be the first ‘5G Campus’ in the world, was designed to accommodate numerous aspects of learning and university life.
The $29 million project places all of the classrooms, laboratories, and common spaces (including the cafeteria and auditorium), which totals 265,000-sf, in a single, optimized building. The sports building, library, lockers, access building, and chapel, which totals over 47,000-sf of additional space, complete the complex.
Given Seville’s Mediterranean climate, where high temperatures are often the norm, special attention was paid to controlling sunlight. “The project makes use of the lessons learned in T2 at Heathrow Airport in the U.K., and incorporates textile technology – the design of an external element, ‘the candle,’ which controls the light that penetrates the buildings,” said Luis Vidal, President and Founding Partner at luis vidal + architects, in a release. “The campus also consists of a sequence of open and closed spaces, designed to provide self-shading.”
See also: Students aren’t the only ones who have returned to Austin College in Texas
Winter/summer plazas change with the seasons to provide comfortable outdoor space for students. During summer these plazas benefit from the sun shading of the buildings, generating spaces sheltered from the Western sunlight. In addition, the presence of water cools down the temperature and creates a microclimate of a certain comfort. During winter plazas heat up with sunlight, in its lowest angles of incidence and, they are protected from the prevailing winds.
The campus’ roof, facades, and windows were designed to minimize sizable energy losses. Photovoltaic panels were also installed to reduce the net-energy consumption of the building. A water recovery system was also incorporated. More than 20% of the building materials come from previous uses, and more than 30% of the materials were locally extracted from the surrounding area.
Project construction was wrapped in 17 months.
Related Stories
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 14, 2014
Proven 6-step approach to treating historic windows
This course provides step-by-step prescriptive advice to architects, engineers, and contractors on when it makes sense to repair or rehabilitate existing windows, and when they should advise their building owner clients to consider replacement.
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.
| Sep 22, 2014
Sound selections: 12 great choices for ceilings and acoustical walls
From metal mesh panels to concealed-suspension ceilings, here's our roundup of the latest acoustical ceiling and wall products.
| Sep 17, 2014
New hub on campus: Where learning is headed and what it means for the college campus
It seems that the most recent buildings to pop up on college campuses are trying to do more than just support academics. They are acting as hubs for all sorts of on-campus activities, writes Gensler's David Broz.
| Sep 15, 2014
Ranked: Top international AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Parsons Brinckerhoff, Gensler, and Jacobs top BD+C's rankings of U.S.-based design and construction firms with the most revenue from international projects, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 9, 2014
Using Facebook to transform workplace design
As part of our ongoing studies of how building design influences human behavior in today’s social media-driven world, HOK’s workplace strategists had an idea: Leverage the power of social media to collect data about how people feel about their workplaces and the type of spaces they need to succeed.
| Sep 7, 2014
Behind the scenes of integrated project delivery — successful tools and applications
The underlying variables and tools used to manage collaboration between teams is ultimately the driving for success with IPD, writes CBRE Healthcare's Megan Donham.