Education buildings refer to any location that is mainly used by students and their teachers.
The CIBSE Education Buildings Group separates them into 4 categories: Early years, Schools, Further Education, and Universities.
What are the differences?
Early years settings are used by children roughly 3–5 years old. In the UK, these settings are often referred to as nurseries and can be categorised into various types, including purpose-built nurseries, micro nurseries run by childminders, and converted houses or commercial spaces in mixed-use buildings. For example, over 80,000 nurseries are based in houses.
Schools are used by children between the ages of 5–16. In the UK, we separate these into primary and secondary schools, but there are other systems such as the U.S. American system: elementary, middle, junior high, and high school. All of these types of school buildings have a similar design: they each have general classrooms, toilets, teachers offices, a hall, a kitchen, and a playground. Classrooms tend to hold up to 30 students at a time.
Further education, refers to colleges or vocational training centres. In the UK, these places provide A-levels, BTEC, NVQ, HNC and equivalent qualifications. These buildings tend to be used for more specialised courses than the school buildings above. They tend to be larger than schools to accommodate more students, but still have many spaces that are adaptable to suit the needs of the lessons. You might have more areas such as a separate dining hall and assembly hall, as there is more space within the building.
Universities tend to be larger buildings, close together on a campus, and have lots of specialised areas. For example, a university that teaches performing arts will need a large theatre with complex lighting systems but will not need a science lab, like a university that teaches biology does. Lecture halls, dining halls and kitchens need to have enough space to accommodate thousands of students, who may or may not live on campus.
Are there differences in design?
The design of building services engineering for schools, further education buildings, and university buildings varies mainly due to the different needs and complexities of these facilities.
Both early years settings and schools focus on simplicity and safety, with basic HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems to maintain a comfortable learning environment, straightforward electrical systems to support lighting and basic technology, and simple plumbing for restrooms and drinking fountains. Early year settings tend to look at how to retrofit these elements into a building, whereas schools are usually purpose-built.
Further education buildings often require more advanced systems to support a wider range of activities, including specialised classrooms and labs; these buildings might have more sophisticated HVAC systems to handle diverse usage patterns, enhanced electrical systems to support more extensive use of technology, and additional plumbing for specialised facilities like science labs or vocational training areas.
University buildings, on the other hand, are usually the most complex, designed to support a wide array of functions including lecture halls, research laboratories, libraries, and student accommodations. This complexity necessitates advanced HVAC systems to manage various environments, robust electrical systems to power high-tech equipment and extensive IT infrastructure, and comprehensive plumbing systems to serve numerous and diverse facilities. Additionally, universities often incorporate sustainable design principles, such as energy-efficient systems and renewable energy sources, to align with broader environmental goals and reduce operational costs.