As the Enterprise Centre at UEA reaches its second anniversary, we speak to the man behind the revolutionary building about its success.
The Enterprise Centre at the University of East Anglia, which is home to 34 tenants and entrepreneurship coaching centre Enterprise Central, has celebrated its second anniversary with its 26th commendation.
The building is also proving successful among the business community, providing a home for start-ups and student enterprises.
Its national Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) award – received this month – was the one Prof John French, chief executive of Adapt Low Carbon Group, which manages the building, was most eager to receive.
He said: 'If you plan something visionary, some people sit on the sidelines and do not think you can achieve it. I am absolutely thrilled we did it. Two years after opening it is wonderful to see everyone is really appreciating it.'
After helping to secure funding from the EU, UEA and other bodies, Prof French project-managed the build to ensure the local sourcing of natural materials, which make up 70% of the structure. This included timber from Thetford Forest.
'People are starting to appreciate the importance of natural materials in the built environment,' Prof French said.
'The downstream effect of low carbon is beautiful design that has been driven by sustainability. I think we have started to make sustainability mainstream and people are now starting to think about sustainability first.'
He added: 'UEA is a low-carbon campus. We are all dedicated to making it an exemplar of low carbon built environments and to provide leadership in that.'
The Enterprise Centre was the first building to achieve both Passivhaus certification for energy efficiency, BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment) certification for sustainability.
It only uses 39 kilowatt hours of energy per square metre per year – a quarter of that used by UEA's Elizabeth Fry building, held up as a paragon of energy efficiency after its opening in 1995.
In its 100-year life cycle, the building is predicted to only produce 440kg of carbon dioxide, the lowest ever achieved.
Prof French believes building, technology and science are on a 'collision course' which could lead to even bigger in-roads in energy-efficient construction.
He said: 'I turned up in 2008 heavily into bio-based technology and the UEA had slowed down, in terms of innovative architecture.
'The university wanted a business centre, and I wanted to build a low-carbon building with biotech and agritech materials.
'I was on a mission to show you could provide an energy efficient building that was enjoyable to be with materials that were low-carbon to put in.'
Centre shows university's 'interest in business'
Enterprise Central, an arm of UEA's careers service, found a permanent home in the Enterprise Centre.
It helps students to nurture their own entrepreneurial ideas and has a profitable two-way relationship with the centre's business tenants.
UEA student enterprise officer Finbarr Carter said: 'We were involved with the planning of this building. It gave us the opportunity to design a space around the needs of our students.
'One of the most important things to come out of this is peer-to-peer communication – we are working towards our students to see each other as a resource.'
Mr Carter said 'symbiotic relationships' have emerged between tenants and students, with regular mentoring and internship opportunities.
'We wanted to make sure there was enterprising activity across the building.'
He added: 'It has been good for the UEA to show we are not just interested in teaching or research, we are interested in business too.'
Ecologist enjoying co-working set-up
Consultant ecologist James Goldsmith set up his company, Insight Ecology, while still a student at UEA.
He was one of the Enterprise Centre's 'virtual tenants', of which there are now 25, who can use it as a registered address and use its facilities.
Ecology graduate Mr Goldsmith said: 'It is a good way, when you cannot afford an office, to have a professional presence.'
He moved to a desk in the centre's co-working space, shared with more than 25 other businesses, in October last year before joining forces with co-director Dr Charlotte Packman in March.
He said: 'It is an amazing space. I did wonder whether it would be noisy or off-putting having other people around you, but it is a really nice atmosphere and you have people around when you need them. It is a community.'
Insight Ecology also has close links with Enterprise Central, part of UEA's careers service, which runs business workshops and can connect companies with interns.
Financial firm's graduate gold rush
Financial advisory firm Chadwicks was one of the first tenants to move into the Enterprise Centre in July 2015.
From a staff of six, the company has grown to 12 with another two UEA graduates joining in September. It now occupies two offices at the centre, with capacity for another four staff.
Managing director Richard Ross said: 'The main benefit we've had from being in the Enterprise Centre is the positive energy that comes from working alongside so many young people, each one of them trying to get on either by improving their qualifications or building their own business.'
Wealth manager Daniel Harvey added that being based at the university has provided a significant boost to the number of graduate applications the company receives.
'Being close to the students and having good links to Enterprise Central is really working for us,' he said.
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