ABSTRACT
In the early 1990s the University of East Anglia learned through Mather’s innovative approach to low-energy design that green architecture made sense financially and projected the right kind of image for a modern university. At Nelson Court and Constable Terrace, both designed by Mather to a brief that considered sustainable principles, the resulting buildings proved to be cost effective and, in their unusual design philosophy, attracted favourable publicity. Mather claimed, and monitoring subsequently confirmed, that the highly insulated residences would be heated mainly by the students’ own body heat. The publicity was good for a university seeking to attract bright young students and helped to legitimise energy conservation and give it cachet on the campus.
