Building as a lab Newcastle drives research in digitally-enabled urban sustainability
GROWTH
John Donoghue / Newcastle University
Building as a lab Newcastle drives research in digitally-enabled urban sustainability
Newcastle University ’ s first building on the 24-acre Science Central site opened in September . The Urban Sciences Building is home to the University ’ s School of Computing , but also brings together experts from energy , infrastructure , sustainability and society to drive forward outstanding research in digitally-enabled urban sustainability .
Designed as a ‘ building as a lab ’, it is the focal point for Newcastle University ’ s role in the UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities ( UKCRIC ), which will drive innovation and value creation in national infrastructure . Architects Hawkins \ Brown were tasked with incorporating UKCRICfunded research facilities into the building fabric and infrastructure , including highly-sensed power and water services that interact with building services technology , a DC power grid and
energy storage capability , and a Decision Theatre that provides companies , policy makers and researchers with powerful data visualisation for collaborative decision making . The site of the building is a next-generation Sustainable Urban Drainage Scheme , and will also host the soon-to-be experimental Electric Vehicle Filling Station . The building is also home to the National Centre for Energy Systems Integration ( ncl . ac . uk / cesi ).
URBAN OBSERVATORY The building ’ s features are being analysed and incorporated into another part of the UKCRIC infrastructure , the Urban Observatory ( urbanobservatory . ac . uk ). One of the largest open urban datasets and comprehensive sensor networks in the world , the Urban Observatory collects information about rainfall , air pollution , temperature , noise , traffic , flooding , and social media to build a picture of the urban environment . Growing by five observations every second , the Urban Observatory dataset already has more than half-a-billion data points available for analysis and modelling by users .
Phil James , leader of the Urban Observatory , explained : “ A range of sensors are deployed around the city , and the data is being used to help understand long-term performance and interactions of infrastructure within the wider urban system . Bringing in detailed buildinglevel data from the Urban Sciences Building opens a new dimension to the Observatory ’ s capabilities .”
Having brought this £ 59m 12,500m ² project in on time and within budget , attention will now turn to other developments on the Science Central site . Newcastle University has already submitted planning applications for its next two buildings . ■
62 | UKSPA breakthrough | WINTER 2017