The University of Cape Town actively implements sustainable land-use practices in its campus infrastructure development by prioritising redevelopment of existing campus sites (infill or ‘brownfield’ sites) when such opportunities arise. For example, the Avenue Road Residence in the Mowbray precinct is a redevelopment of an existing site … re-using infrastructure and land that is already built on and occupied. On Upper Campus, the new lecture theatre is located on a former janitor’s residence site, again leveraging an existing developed footprint rather than greenfield expansion.
Further, UCT’s "Integrated Development Framework" (IDF, 2022) identifies “opportunities for infill development” across its campus precincts. These practices demonstrate UCT’s commitment to efficient land-use, supporting sustainable campus growth, reducing sprawl and preserving greenfield land.
Such brownfield development aligns with UCT’s Vision 2030 of sustainable infrastructure, supports SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities (by optimising existing urban land) and SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production (by re-using land and infrastructure).
While UCT does not publicly publish a fixed quantitative target for redevelopment of brownfield versus greenfield sites, the available project descriptions and campus planning documents provide clear evidence of an institutional approach to housing new infrastructure within existing footprints.
An example: Avenue Road Residence. The site of the Student Residence and Dining Hall is bounded by Rhodes Drive (M3), Rhodes Avenue, Avenue Road and Matopo Road within the larger Mowbray precinct, which consists of a number of buildings, most of which are heritage-protected.
Some buildings and parts of others were demolished to make way for the new structures, and the placement of the new structures was carefully thought through in order to enhance and control vehicular and pedestrian movement.
All the surrounding heritage buildings and features were retained and protected and incorporated in the overall planning of the site layout. A few of the heritage requirements included:
- The demolition of existing structures as per the agreed Demolition Scope
- Creating a good interface with existing Heritage structures
- The rear services extensions and courtyard of Avenue house had to be retained and incorporated into the development
Every area of the design and construction of the Residence focuses on sustainable concerns such as energy, carbon emissions, embodied energy, water, healthy spaces for people, ecology, transport and construction management.
Some of the innovative design highlights and sustainability features of this project include:
Use of natural light. For example, the way the Residence and Dining Hall have been organised around three landscaped courtyards, as well as the design of the Dining Hall roof and the high-level windows, allow natural light into the space.
Sustainable landscaping. The residence’s external courtyards have been designed to be sunken lounges, with the trees seats, benches and planters making them inviting spaces in which students can gather together to relax and socialise. A combination of indigenous water-wise and low-maintenance plant and tree species define the space as well as complement the architecture. Additionally, an outdoor gym has also been installed as a functional element within the landscape.
Use of low-carbon materials in construction. Materials such as GGBS (Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag) were used in the building's concrete structure to reduce the amount of virgin cement, and the use of recycled steel. At least 50% of all timber came from sustainable sources, and carbon emissions associated with construction were reduced by sourcing products and materials from within 50km of the site. All construction activities followed strict guidelines with regards to protecting the environment and preventing construction waste from going to landfill.
Water efficiency. As residences are the university’s biggest users of water, the infrastructure ensures that all sanitary fittings are water efficient, with low-flow showerheads and taps and dual-flush toilets. The taps in basins provided to each bedroom offer a cold-water supply only. A centralised heat pump plant – which includes four high-efficiency 90kW Sirac Core environment friendly R410a heat pumps - provide the water heating that is circulated to bathrooms and kitchenettes using a ring main system, which prevents water wastage from ‘dead legs’ in the system. There is also a partial groundwater system, with a borehole on site which would allow the building to continue to operate using ground water, in a drought scenario (depending on the water quality). Under normal conditions it would revert to municipal supply. Water-efficient kitchen appliances and fittings are installed in the industrial kitchen, and water-wise smart irrigation is used to water the equally water-wise planted landscape.
Energy efficiency. To keep energy output to a minimum, the design ensures that all bedrooms have openable windows that allow fresh air, natural light and views to the outdoors. There is mechanical ventilation and extraction to areas such as some of the lounges, the workshop, the laundry and waste room area, and lighting in common areas such as passages and lounges are switched using occupancy sensors.