its unequivocal tendency to compose homogeneous fabrics, through which it could be reconnected to the urban organism. Apart from the theme of an experimentation greatly connected to the urban developing processes, there is, on the other hand, another issue in this context that affects more and more the planning of modern university centres and that, since about a decade, has led some universities to employ their theories and technologies to transform their venues into green campuses, through which to embody the idea of“ green / sustainable university” [ 2 ]: prototypes on urban scale of the various experiments on the principles of energetic-environmental sustainability. The design theorem, in such cases, is basically focused on the strategic integration between territory, local resources and university settlement, as well as on efficient energy management of buildings.
Table 1: Actions to support sustainable campus planning, design and development.( Clayton 2013:41)
Category
Action
Campus planning Campus-specific sustainability objectives included in all campus planning instruments( i. e. considering climate and weather patterns, topography, geology / soils, hydrology, urban design context).
Space planning at campus, precinct and building scale to optimise flexibility, adaptability, diversity and multifunctionality of spaces.
Investigation of non-building solutions to accommodate university growth.
Physical accessibility of the campus to the external community, different age groups and people with a disability.
Campus building design Design to the appropriate green building rating system as the minimum starting point.
Each new building / major refurbishment to incorporate at least one innovative sustainability feature beyond the requirements of the green building rating system.
These theoretical aspects provide the basis to the experiments conducted on Taranto’ s context and the project of implementing its University Center as indicated by the Polytechnic of Bari over the next years. Starting from these physical and theoretical models it is now possible to deepen some non-exhausting interventions that allow us to comprehend the modality of interpretation of some of these actions as actual virtuous processes.
Study Cases. 1-The University of Bristol _ Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects LLP, 2006
Over the last 20 years the University of Bristol has recorded an increment in the number of students from 8,000 to 12,000, as well as a growing demand for research facilities. In order to address these issues the University required 38,000 sqm of new academic spaces, but great part of the existing building heritage was not able to provide room for classes and modern research. Moreover the campus was saturated. The only possible area of development was the historical-archaeological that houses the Royal Fort Gardens, on which great of the master plan was focused. The latter has taken time to enhance the historical features and the natural landscapes present in the area and create:
• a better pedestrian access to the campus, providing a new cycling path that opens the boundaries of the campus towards the town;
• better relationships between the University and the town, by means of the planning of a wide
The University Campus as a model of environmental and settlement sustainability 153