Education is set to benefit from major government investment. The government's recent comprehensive spending review paper pledged £19bn for this sector, £5.4bn of which is expected to find its way into capital spending on schools, further and higher education over the next three years.
This whole-life cost model focuses on learning resource centres, a new type of facility that has emerged over the past five years and is essential to today's higher education colleges.
The need for and availability of electronic communications and multimedia has created new demands, and new ways for colleges to boost their marketability. A learning resource centre allows them to accommodate students who study part time or operate from remote locations, and businesses looking to update their professional skills.
Private finance initiative schemes in this sector are more often in the smaller capital cost range of £5m-15m. However, their whole-life costs remain as relevant as ever.
Funding rearrangements have also reinforced the need to reduce operating costs. This is a major driving force behind educational establishments' business strategies, and one of the main reasons for the increased awareness of good facilities management. As with the commercial sector, the education sector has realised that good facilities management advice in the early stages of the design process can significantly affect the whole-life costs of the facility. Because of the growing interest in this area, a good-practice guide has been written by FBA, part of Citex Professional Services, in collaboration with the University of Reading. This was prompted by an earlier value-for-money study.
Model buildings
The whole-life costs of two model buildings are analysed below. The 2000 m2 building is a typical modern learning resource centre for a smaller further education establishment. The 6000 m2 building is similar to the 2000 m2 one in terms of quality and facilities but suitable for larger establishments. Both model buildings include car parking and landscaping. Similar buildings would reflect variations in costs for labour and material rates, geographic location, security risks and threats, and site accessibility.
Specification in brief
- 2000 m² building: reinforced concrete frame with concrete coffered upper floors, piled foundations, cavity wall construction, triple glazing, glazed atrium, demountable internal partitions, pitched slate roof, perimeter fan-convector heating with mechanical ventilation, lift.
- 6000 m² building: as above with reconstructed stone detailing, balconies, demountable partitioning and two lifts.
Capital costs
These include internal finishes, M&E installations, siteworks and study desks. They exclude fees, land costs, legal charges, VAT and other taxes, furniture and loose fittings.
Occupancy costs
These have been estimated over 25 years at today's prices, with finance charges at a real rate of 4%. They include planned and reactive maintenance to the M&E installation and building fabric; maintenance of hard and soft landscaping; cleaning of all areas, quarterly window cleaning; no manned security; a part-time facilities manager for the smaller building, a full-time person for the larger; and operational hours of 8am to 8pm. IT refreshment has been assumed on a three-yearly cycle.
Occupancy costs exclude insurance, rates, major refurbishments (for normal wear and tear only), consumables used in the course of business (stationery, postage, telephone and so on). The table, below, gives more details.
Finance charges are included, reflecting the funding of the building's construction.
Model buildings: Cost commentary
Many components of occupancy costs have been subject to modest increases over a number of years. However, what we are witnessing is significant change in the adoption of information technology, and, with it, IT-related expenditure. Although academic institutions were early adopters of technology, an information revolution is taking place that is causing many different forms of IT to be employed. Learning resource centres are acting as a catalyst for this.
The centres contain most of the resources that students need to reinforce the learning achieved in the classroom and workplace, bringing together the more traditional resources of a library with media and computer facilities.
The result is ready access to periodicals, learning packages and library catalogues in electronic form. Ease of access to the Internet delivers new learning opportunities. This has had a huge impact on educational establishments, which are now required to make substantial investments in IT to deliver these opportunities and attract students to their institutions.
Research in the IT industry has established that the capital cost of a PC represents less than 20% of its total cost of ownership over three years. Applying this logic to the model here, IT can be identified as the single largest cost, placing into context the cost of the original construction.
Learning resource centres need to be able to keep up with the incredible rate of change. This may mean more flexible, leases or refurbishments that reflect the replacement cycles if IT, homeworking and adaptable working hours.
Although it is difficult to predict the nature of desktop technology in 25 years' time – and even harder to predict its cost – our model of more than £6.6m for the smaller building and more than £15m for the larger one assumes a three-year refresh rate, using constant prices.
Below are alternative scenarios for the smaller building based on 80 PCs. Although equipment prices may fall, training and support costs will continue.
Case study: Learning resource centre, Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College, Farnham
The learning resource centre comprises a 1448 m2 (net) three-storey building on the campus of the Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College, Farnham. The building, completed in September 1996, was officially opened in January 1997 and awarded the Farnham Society Amenity Award in 1997.
The building is built into a slope, with most of the lower ground floor forming an undercroft and underground storage facility. The remaining space houses offices, photocopying area, WCs and a reception area with stairs and a hydraulic lift leading to two full floors. The two floors have 250 study spaces and racking for library storage, supporting the campus population of 2000. As well as 250 study spaces, the building comprises a staff area, offices, issues desk, CD-ROM and photocopier rooms, quiet area, periodicals, data retrieval, newspapers, and a slide, video and audio-visual facilities room.
A small team led by Alan Cooke, head of estate service, manages the centre and all the other facilities at the Surrey Institute's Farnham and Epsom sites. Building manager Tim Neal provides day-to-day operational building management.
Detailed specification for the Surrey Institute Learning Resource Centre
Foundations
Reinforced concrete pads, joined by reinforced concrete edge beams
Ground-floor and upper-floor slabs
Loadbearing reinforced concrete slabs
Structure
Structural steel frame
External walls
Cavity wall construction with curtain walling
Windows and doors
Double-glazed windows. External doors to staircases, undercroft and service access are high-security metal. Main entrance doors are toughened glass
Internal windows and doors
Flush doors; ironmongery; decoration
Roof
The main curved roof is Broderick Brodseam. The mezzanine roof is Stramit Speedek. Canopy roof is metal sheeting
Stairs
Precast concrete main staircase. Flying steel staircase to mezzanine. Steel escape staircase
Internal partitions
Full-height office partitions with safety glass
Ceiling
Suspended ceilings are fitted in office areas with grid tiles, luminaires and grilles
Internal joinery
Internal doors and ironmongery
Lifts
The hydraulic lift from lower ground floor to mezzanine level can accommodate 10 people
Sanitary fittings
Toilets have laminate tops with inset sinks. Washhand basins, toilets, cisterns and urinals
Floor finishes
Carpet tiles throughout, except vinyl sheet flooring in WCs
Wall finishes
Internal walls are fairfaced blockwork
Power
Low-voltage power distribution. Small power: double sockets at floor and skirting level
Lighting
By category two luminaires. External low-level lighting bollards. Emergency lighting
Heating
Gas-fired low-pressure hot water. The CD-ROM and photocopier rooms have ceiling-mounted cassette-type splitair-conditioners with condenser in the undercroft area and fanned ventilation
Above-ground drainage
PVCu soil vent waste pipework
Ventilation
Naturally ventilated using a combination of manually and automatically operated dampers and windows. Mechanical supply and extract ventilation is provided to issues desk, CD-ROM room, photocopier room, corridor and toilet accommodation
Hot and cold water services
Direct cold water supply from site mains supply, with no cold water storage and localised electrical hot water generation
Below-ground drainage
Drainage. Pipework. Surrounds. Manholes. Gullies. Interceptors
Communications installation
Building management system and fire alarm. Skirting trunking for telecoms and cabling
Alarm system
An alarm system consisting of automatic detectors, break glass detectors, audible alarm control panel and plant shutdown
Fixtures and fittings
Study desks and study carrels
Detailed specification for 2000 m2 learning resource centre model building
Foundations
Pile caps, ground beams and lift pit base. Piled foundations
Ground-floor slabs
Reinforced concrete suspended slab
Structure
Reinforced concrete frame
External walls
Cavity wall construction. Facing bricks outer skin. Cavity insulation. Blockwork inner skin
Internal partitions
Blockwork and studwork internal walls. Demountable partitions
Upper floors
Reinforced concrete coffered slab
Stairs
Metal staircase. Reinforced concrete staircases and cat ladders. Powder-coated balustrading
Roof
Steel trusses and timber rafters with slates. Glazed atria: roof louvres. Inverted roof: asphalt, insulation slabs
Windows and doors
Composite triple-glazed windows with integral blinds. Anodised aluminium outer window. Softwood inner window
Internal windows and doors
Flush doors. Ironmongery. Decoration
Ceiling
Mineral-fibre tile suspended ceiling. Emulsion paint to soffits
Floor finishes
Cement and sand screed throughout. Carpet
Wall finishes
Plaster and emulsion paint. Wall tiling in isolated areas
Fixtures and fittings
Kitchen equipment, solar shading, study desks and post graduate study carrels. Servery/bar
Sanitary fittings
Vitreous china sanitaryware
Above-ground drainage
PVCu pipe and fittings
Power
Low-voltage power distribution. Small power: double sockets at floor and skirting level
Lighting
Lighting and emergency lighting. Downlighters to give 450 lux
Heating
Perimeter fan convector heating. Gas carcassing
Ventilation
Mechanical displacement ventilation to catering, lounge and so on
Hot and cold water services
Hot and cold domestic water installations
Lifts
One lift
Communications installations
Building management system and fire alarm. Skirting trunking for telecoms and cabling.
Below-ground drainage
Drainage. Pipework. Surrounds. Manholes. Gullies. Interceptors
Detailed specification for 6000 m2 learning resource centre model building
Foundations
Pile caps, ground beams and lift pit bases. Piled foundations
Ground floor slabs
Reinforced concrete suspended slab
Structure
Reinforced concrete frame; columns and beams
External walls
Cavity wall construction; multi-stock facing bricks outer skin; cavity insulation; blockwork inner skin; reconstituted stone detailing
Internal partitions
Blockwork and studwork internal walls, limited quantity of demountable partitions
Upper floors
Reinforced concrete coffered slab
Stairs
Reinforced concrete staircases, metal staircase and cat ladders. Powder-coated metal and glass panel balustrading. Tubular steel handrails
Roof
Steel trusses and timber rafters with slates. Precast concrete infill to rafters. Inverted roof with PC concrete paving slabs. Atria glazing with louvres to roof
Windows and doors
Composite triple-glazed windows; anodised aluminium outer window; softwood inner window with integral blinds. Glazed external doors. Feature balconies to windows
Internal windows and doors
Single- and double-leaf flush door; ironmongery; decoration
Ceiling
Part-suspended ceiling; mineral-fibre tiles. Emulsion paint to majority
Floor finishes
Cement and sand screed throughout. Carpet finish to majority
Wall finishes
Plaster and emulsion paint. Wall tiling in isolated areas
Fixtures and fittings
Kitchen equipment, atria shading, study desks and post graduate study carrels
Sanitary fittings
Armitage Shanks sanitaryware
Above-ground drainage
PVCu pipes and fittings
Power
Low-voltage power distribution. Small power; double sockets at floor and skirting level
Lighting
Lighting and emergency lighting; downlighters to give 450 lux
Heating
Perimeter fan convector heating. Gas carcassing
Ventilation
Mechanical displacement ventilation to catering/lounge and so on
Hot and cold water services
Hot and cold domestic water installations
Lifts
Two lifts
Communications installations
Building management system and fire alarm. Skirting trunking for telecoms and cabling.
Below-ground drainage
Drainage. Pipework. Surrounds. Manholes. Gullies. Interceptors
