Post Occupancy Studies

Undertaking post occupancy studies of completed projects is recognised as good practice within the construction industry and the University uses the post occupancy model developed by the RIBA Higher Education Design Quality Forum (HEDQF).

The forums draw on the experiences of the main parties involved and each project is the subject of a separate one day forum run by an independent external facilitator. The day is based around a series of structured round table discussions with the goal of producing positive recommendations which will benefit future projects both here at Bath and elsewhere.

3 West North
The building was designed by the Bath based architects Stubbs Rich to provide a total of 890mª of new accommodation together with 150mª of refurbished space for the University. The total project cost was £2.87m, funding being provided by the Higher Education Funding Council for England through its Project Capital and SRIF capital allocation rounds.

3 South - Phase 2
The project was the second phase of the redevelopment of the 3 South Building and provided accommodation for the Faculty of Biology and Biochemistry, consisting of space for researchers, including a number of highly specialised plant, insect and amphibian facilities, academic offices and ancillary accommodation, which includes central stores for the faculty .

Centre for Power Transmission & Motion Control (CPTMC)
Engineering research centre of 1,800m2 completed in 2002 at a cost of £3.3m.

3 South - Phase 1
Chemistry teaching laboratories of 1,678m2 completed in 2002 at a cost of £3.8m.

Marlborough & Solsbury Court Residences
468 bedrooms in two interlocking blocks, completed in 2003 at a cost of £14.1m.

Lessons from these projects have led to changes in the management of capital projects as well as scheme design. In particular the new 4 West draws on lessons from CPTMC and the R5 residences on Marlborough & Solsbury Court.

The University believes that the process is worthwhile and intends to continue with the HEDQF approach, tailoring it to the size and complexity of the projects concerned.

Links

Higher Education Estates http://www.heestates.ac.uk/goodprac/capital/postcomp/default.asp

HEDQF
http://www.architecture.com/go/Architecture/Debate/Forums 2066.html

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