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Faculty of Information and Communication Technology Building
inaugurated
Posted By Gozo News On November 18, 2013 @ 11:06 am In Malta News | No Comments
One of the largest construction projects undertaken of late by the University of Malta, jointly
funded by the Government of Malta and the European Union, is the new building for the
Faculty of ICT.
This ERDF 017 Project which cost 17 million Euro is part-financed by the European Union
under the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007-2013, with a Co-financing
rate of 85% EU Funds, 15% National Funds.
The new building was inaugurated by Evarist Bartolo, Minister for Education and
Employment, in the presence of Stefan Buontempo, Parliamentary Secretary for Research,
Innovation, Youth & Sport, Rector, Dr Joe Cassar, Shadow Minister for Education, Prof.
Juanito Camilleri, and the Dean of the Faculty, Dr Ernest Cachia, as part of the events held
during Discover University Open Week.
The opening included short speeches followed by a tour of the new faculty building. The
building consists of a concrete substructure with a steel framed upper structure. The exterior
envelope predominantly consists of a special engineered façade which is filled with an inert
gas and treated to minimise solar heat gains whilst not compromising the light transmission
into the rooms.
The building has no open-able windows but is climate controlled through an advanced
Building Management System (BMS). The internal climatic conditions, such as temperature,
introduction of fresh air and extraction will all be managed by an automated system. Heat
recovery units have also been installed in key areas such that the fresh air being introduced
inside the building is pre conditioned by the extracted air, resulting in increased overall
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11/18/13
Gozo News.Com » Faculty of Information and Communication Technology Building inaugurated » Print
efficiency.
The rooms will be furnished with presence detectors in order to switch off lights and air
conditioning systems automatically after a predefined period of time, if these are left on
when the room is vacated.
The underground parking will be monitored and automatically ventilated. It is envisaged that
this centralised climate control system, together with the use of the most advanced outer
façade materials, will significantly reduce the energy demands of this building thus helping to
minimise the environmental impact that the addition of another building on campus will have.
In general, the air-conditioning units are of VRF type using inverter driven compressors in
order to optimise running efficiency under partial load conditions.
Although the building houses its own dedicated electricity sub-station to ensure a stable
supply of power, it is also equipped with a powerful Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS)
system, a standby generator for emergency power provision suitable to run all essential
loads.
Another feature of the building is its own rain water harvesting. Even in case of water supply
interruption, the building can rely on its own voluminous subterranean water reservoir. This
water reservoir shall be used to provide second class water for toilet use, provide water for
irrigation purposes, as well as for fire fighting systems.
The types of light fittings vary depending on the application and location, but in general they
all provide a high lumen output per watt and are therefore energy efficient. The building is
furnished with a PV array on the roof which shall serve the dual purposes of providing
shading to the roof, thereby decreasing the fabric heat gain and also generating power for
direct use by the building.
The building is also furnished with security and safety systems including a fire detection
system, fire fighting system (with inert gas suppression in the server rooms), CCTV and
access control.
The structure itself is a four-floor edifice offering approximately 6700 sq. m. of floor space in
total, configured as two blocks connected via a central multi-storey entrance, lobby, stairwell,
and lift area, with a ramp-accessed underground level 70+ car park. Attention was given to
the overall skyline of the University’s Msida Campus.
The sloped landscape surrounding the building minimised the visual impact on the
surrounding university buildings. The various areas in the new building will include teaching
labs, research rooms, tutorial rooms, undergraduate study areas, post-graduate rooms,
research labs, and more.
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