With its steel roofing, beautifully landscaped courtyard, retail shops and cafes, and numerous Environmental Sustainable Design (ESD) features, the Campus Living Village at Kelvin Grove is clearly not your parent's dormitory. Just as a high-quality university education should aim to develop a student beyond their intellectual pursuits, Allen, Jack & Cottier (AJC) maintain campus housing accommodations should provide more than just a bed and place to study.

Situated adjacent to Queensland University of Technology as part of the Kelvin Grove Urban Village development in Brisbane, Australia, the new student accommodation complex is comprised of two, seven-storey buildings (456 beds in 109 apartments) enclosing a landscaped courtyard. The courtyard is accessible to the public and provides a thoroughfare for pedestrians. Retail and food outlets address the street to integrate the facility with the surrounding village community. Accessed from the street at three different levels of the steep, sloping site, each entrance point is activated by communal and public facilities, including retail, a student common room, laundry, an "e-library," and administration.

So when the Brisbane, Australia-based architectural firm began designing the Campus Living Village (CLV), they focused on the quality of individual spaces as well as developing a community that could support a student's wide spectrum of needs. They resolved to design a cost-effective structure that would not only surpass urban design and environmental guidelines set by the Kelvin Grove Urban Village master plan, but also improve upon the already high standards for student housing established by their client, Campus Living Villages.

In doing so, AJC has managed to set a new standard for student accommodation in Australia. And according to Colin Janes, the project team leader, the innovative use of steel throughout the complex played a significant role in the project's success.

Steel's Inherent Attributes Provide Numerous Solutions

Sustainable Building Material - With Kelvin Grove Urban Village's ambitious ecological sustainability agenda, AJC worked closely with ESD consultant CJP Consulting Engineers to ensure environmental efficiency. ESD features are incorporated in all levels of the student village, from the core use of reverse masonry construction for thermal performance, to small-scale plumbing features that restrict water flow such as water-free urinals. The building is clad in steel to provide a long-life, low maintenance finish that is recyclable. The corrugated steel cladding also provides shading and insulation to the structure. "Combined with external insulation and pre-cast concrete construction, the walls form a ‘reverse masonry veneer' that achieves optimum thermal performance in the sub-tropical Brisbane climate," Mr. Janes said.

Mr. Janes, who also manages AJC's Brisbane office, added that the use of steel roofing not only ensures similar low-maintenance and longevity features, but allows for the easy collection of clean rainwater that can then be recycled to irrigate the gardens. (50,000 litre tanks are used for the collection and storage of rainwater).

Construction Innovation - The construction programme is always critical to the success of any project, impacting how much it will cost and how quickly the structure can be built. In the case of the CLV, Mr. Janes said it was imperative that the student accommodation facility be available to students from the beginning of the academic year. AJC therefore worked with the builders, Matrix Constructions, to devise a construction system that would provide high-quality environmental performance, acoustic insulation, durability and quick construction.

"The speedy erection of the superstructure and roof was achieved through the use of steel framing for all internal walls and roof structure, and the application of reverse masonry veneer construction whereby pre-cast concrete walls were clad with insulation and corrugated steel. Internal fit-out and exterior finishing were thus able to be carried out simultaneously, greatly reducing the construction programme and cost," he said.

In addition, steel partition framing was essential to ensuring a more rapid construction programme and an adaptable fit-out. Standard steel sections were also used to build stair balustrades, roof framing, wall bracing, brackets and other parts of the structure.

As a result, the now award-winning CLV was completed ahead of schedule and the facility opened its doors to students in January 2008.

Aesthetic Design Features - Each of the buildings feature detailed elements that serve to enliven the streetscape and skyline, including wide, overhanging eaves and ‘fly' roofs, feature pergolas, and awnings to provide shelter to the adjacent footpaths. "Each of these features uses structural steel which is finely-detailed, elegant and human-scaled to add to the visual interest and amenity of the buildings," Mr. Janes said.

Through detailed planning of the apartments, the architect was able to create a positive learning and social environment. "The basic building block for the development is an innovative and highly efficient apartment design that sets a high standard for student comfort while delivering a simple and economical building," Mr. Janes said.

The corrugated steel cladding, wide overhangs and attached sunshades to windows were designed specific to the location and aspect. "The result is a building enlivened by deep shadows and high contrasts of the Queensland sun," he said.

Planning began with a five-bedroom modular unit planned over two storeys. That module could be inverted and interlocked in a number of ways, with each apartment wrapping over - or under - a corridor floor and allowing for dual orientation and providing cross ventilation and sunlight throughout the day. The plan's flexibility allowed for repeats while still providing variation to elevations. The basic module is tailored to the needs of students, providing ample light to study areas, privacy, and a common lounge and balcony.

AJC believes the creation of a supportive community throughout the establishment of a local ethos is essential to any student accommodation. While their primary focus was on the basic needs of the student (good quality living environment, feeling of security and comfort), they took they took their design much further by providing an environment within is that is more conducive to study. So in addition to necessary acoustic separation and healthy quantities of sunlight, they designed an outlook that allows the student to see what is going on around them to overcome any sense of isolation that often accompanies intense periods of study.

The quality and variety of semi-public and public spaces, Mr. Janes said, were designed to encourage and foster a vigorous, vibrant community that extends into the Kelvin Grove Urban Village. "Social interaction will be available at the discretion of the individual, whether it's with flat mates talking over coffee, running into people on the stairs, or joining a large function."

It was always the project team's objective to deliver a benchmark ESD building that would offer considerable operational cost savings while ensuring a comfortable living environment for its occupants. Early on, they appointed CJP Consulting Engineers to evaluate the structure's total environmental performance. And architecturally, Mr. Janes said, ESD begins with good orientation and cross-ventilation, two factors that drastically reduce the need for heating and cooling for most of the year, when Brisbane's climate is generally benign.

Cross ventilated apartments, including awning windows, fly screens, fanlight vents (to internal doors) and ceiling fans means more than 90% of the apartments achieve 4.5-star BERS and benefit from the circulation of air on the stillest of days.Incorporated in CLV are many features that will reduce energy consumption and provide a healthy living environment, including:

Energy

• External shading devices and performance glass to windows to prevent heat gain
• Naturally ventilated corridors
• Cross ventilated apartments, including awning windows, fly screens, fanlight vents (to internal doors) and ceiling fans.
• No air-conditioning in apartments
• Reverse masonry veneer construction, reducing heat gain and insulating against heat loss
• High thermal mass construction with exposed concrete ceilings
• Use of natural light and low energy light sources
• Central gas hot water units
• Centralised gas clothes dryers
• One bike space per unit

Water

• 50,000 litre tanks for the collection, detention and storage of rainwater for use in irrigation
• 1500 litre/day grey water recycling
• Centralised laundry and reuse of laundry waste water
• Showerheads and other plumbing fixtures that restrict the flow of water.
• Water-free urinals in common areas
• In-ground irrigation and drought resistant plants including trees native to sub-tropical areas
• Large areas of open space on ‘terra firma' (i.e. natural ground), providing deep soil planting

Other

• Use of materials not associated with Sick Building Syndrome, including low VOC paints, linoleum, woollen carpets and low formaldehyde joinery
• Minimal external painting, which in turn minimises maintenance

Key information

Number of storeys	7
New-build home
Number of Apartments	109

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