Energy conservation key feature of Western Cape student residence

20th February 2015

By: Sashnee Moodley

Senior Deputy Editor Polity and Multimedia

  

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Student accommodation group Stag African has started construction on a R43-million accommodation project for Stellenbosch University’s Tygerberg campus, in the Western Cape.

Construction started this month, is expected to be completed in October and will result in a 208-bed residence, a student centre and a warden’s apartment.

With a significant focus on green building, Stag African has incorporated energy-saving features such as light-emitting diode lighting and heat pumps, which Stag African MD John Schooling says will use 50% less electricity than a standard building.

He tells Engineering News that the rooms are designed to an optimal size of 8.5 m2 each and adds that good student accommodation results in a significant improvement in academic performance.

“South Africa has a shortage of 200 000 beds in student accommodation. The only solution to this problem is approaching it in an innovative and holistic way, getting the private sector involved and leveraging the balance sheets of retirement funds,” says Schooling.

Stag African follows five principles when constructing student accommodation: community, sustainability, flexibility (accommodations can be dismantled and rebuilt), cost effectiveness and technology.

The group focuses significantly on creating “community” through architectural design and has ensured that student accommodation is conducive not only to studying but also to socialising.

The construction of the accommodation features ‘student pods’ which comprise eight beds, two showers, two toilets and four basins, as well as a common area for cooking and socialising.

“Providing a good residence goes beyond the four walls of a building. A student from a disadvantaged background has the hopes of an entire community on him or her. If we can provide a good experience in residence, we provide a better opportunity for him or her to pass,” says Schooling.

Green Construction
Schooling states that the construction of the residence will also use environment-friendly material such as light steel framing (LSF), which does not use any water during the installation of the frames and boards, and uses only a limited amount of water for mixing the compound for the joints in the boards.

Buildings constructed using LSF also offer more comfortable temperatures than masonry construction without heating or cooling. Energy is saved in the heating and cooling of LSF structures, as deviations from the desired internal temperatures are less frequent and less energy is used to heat and cool the internal walls.

Further, the cost of LSF is 13% less than that of standard construction.

It is 40% quicker to construct, releases less emissions and has a low noise impact.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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