ESSEX Business School’s new �21million Colchester home is set to champion sustainable design and will include low and zero carbon technologies.

Work is due to start in September on the landmark building at the University of Essex’s Colchester Campus. It is due to be completed in 2014. Over the past five years, the school, which is positioning itself as one of the leading business schools in the UK, has seen a rapid 50% rise in student numbers.

The school said the design would be a reflection of its ethos, which is to encourage the development of sustainable business strategies. At the heart of the concept is a winter garden which will act as an environmental buffer zone, supporting the passive ventilation and heating strategy of the three storey building.

The project aims to achieve an ‘excellent’ BREEAM rating – the internationally-recognised system for assessing sustainable buildings. School director Professor Michael Sherer said it would be a leading example of sustainable construction which supports the school’s mission to to be one of the greenest business schools in the UK.

This will be a landmark new building, which will support our aims of establishing ourselves as one of the leading business schools in the UK and attracting outstanding students, particularly at Masters and PhD level,” he said.

It will include smart meters and a ground source heat pump.