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RICS Awards 2022
Project of the Year Winner - Erne Campus, South West College, Northern Ireland
This award is the pinnacle of the RICS Awards. It is presented to the entry that is judged to have excelled in any or a combination of all eight categories and is considered to be the most remarkable entry from the shortlist. Judges looked for evidence of innovation and a commitment to value for money
Erne Campus is the world’s first educational, and currently the largest, Passive House Premium rated building. The first building in the UK to achieve both PHP and BREEAM Outstanding accreditations, yielding an anticipated 90% reduction in energy costs, it provides an international exemplar in the achievement of nearly Zero Energy Building for the Public Sector. The Campus, at the heart of the communities in Fermanagh and Tyrone, provides higher education across a range of disciplines, with an emphasis on sustainability and cyber security, to deliver impactful career opportunities for local young people nationally and internationally.
Judges’ comments - This exceptional project has received accreditation for achieving high standards of excellence in terms of sustainability and design. The integrity of the building provides for future generations in terms of employment, developing skills locally for young people and an overall enhancement of the infrastructure in the region.
‘The building has already been recognised by the awarding of several accolades, e.g. Erne Campus is a Passive House Premium and BREEAM Outstanding Rated building and one of 26 UN Centres of Excellence for High Performance Buildings around the world. PHP requires that the energy generated onsite be higher than the demands of the building. It is a UNECE Centre of Excellence for High-Performance buildings and received the Green Gown Award 2021 for Renewable Engine, a cross-border energy knowledge sharing project. Such is its success that it has already become a beacon both in the UK and Continental Europe for demonstrating how can we build and adapt for climate change, providing a living example where its students will be educated and trained to go into the world to put into practice what they have learned. It is instructive to realise that it fulfils a need which wasn’t fully recognised at the time the vision was conceived but which the originators and their supporters had the foresight to see and deliver.’
RICS Awards 2022 - Public Sector Project Winner - Erne Campus, South West College, Northern Ireland
‘Erne Campus is the world’s first educational, and currently the largest, Passive House Premium rated building. The first building in the UK to achieve both PHP and BREEAM Outstanding accreditations, yielding an anticipated 90% reduction in energy costs, it provides an international exemplar in the achievement of nearly Zero Energy Building for the Public Sector.’ ‘Erne Campus, South West College, Northern Ireland 'Despite the many obstacles that it needed to overcome; this project is exemplar. Not only has it generated a centre for excellence for local students of the built environment as a core curriculum subject, but it has also raised the profile and the pride in all its inhabitants and neighbours in an area that has suffered much in recent times.'
Malcolm Young FRICS National Public Sector Project Judge
