Extract

The New Zealand Ministry of Education owns 33,000 classrooms, many of which possess low levels of insulation and depend on openable windows for ventilation. Extending the life of existing buildings reduces the number of buildings that end up in landfills and the embodied carbon embodied in the construction of a replacement classroom. The aim of this review is to explore potential retrofit measures towards improving sustainable practices in external classroom block façade and invariably improve indoor quality for children occupying the classroom block. This study adopts a comprehensive literature review of deep energy retrofits of classrooms. The exclusion and inclusion criteria involved the use of keywords such as retrofit, energy savings, education, and lifecycle analysis. A total of 50 articles were reviewed which had a direct impact on extending the life of classroom blocks. The analysis revealed that the current pressure to plan for New Zealand’s carbon targets requires a change in design thinking. This change can be provided through the retrofit of existing buildings to extend the life cycle. This will enable buildings that are present to reduce the adverse environmental impacts that they are presenting and will concurrently improve the functional ability of our domestic environment. This simultaneously provides a resource that nurtures the child whilst creating a design that will aid in meeting UN Sustainable Development Goals and will benefit future generations of children. Future research would investigate standardisation of retrofit guidelines for New Zealand classroom blocks.

Keywords: Retrofit; Education; Sustainability; Carbon Impact.

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