Posted: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 2:17 pm

Sound-proof panels in the Foster Centre

The Foster Centre for Learning at South Staffordshire College’s Rodbaston Campus has achieved an ‘excellent’ rating under the BREEAM sustainable and environmental assessment rating scheme for buildings.

The £3.5 million Foster Centre for Learning, which is part of the College’s development plans, was awarded ‘excellent’ by BREEAM for its range of environmental fittings and construction designs.

The Foster Centre for Learning includes a range of sustainable features including wire gabion baskets on the exterior, which have been filled with crushed stone to give bats, insects and mosses a potential home within the small cracks. 

In addition, a biomass ‘woodchip’ boiler is in use to heat the building, with woodchips sourced locally from sustainable timber reserves. This, together with the fitting of an advanced Building Management System operating the heating and ventilation systems, has enabled the College to achieve high efficiency and low running costs.

Mark Phillips, South Staffordshire College’s Head of Environment and Sustainability, is understandably proud to receive the BREEAM rating, he said:  "Following our recent success in achieving the Gold EcoCampus, we feel that the building will help us to demonstrate the College's commitment to sustainable practices and it will also facilitate the reduction of our carbon foot print by 25% over the next five years through its many energy saving design features and technologies."