Earth Day: Sustainability has been a long-standing tradition at FIT BUT

The twenty-second of April? Earth Day, of course. The roots of this international initiative focused on environmental protection and raising awareness of humanity's relationship with nature go back to 1970. At the Faculty of Information Technology, we can say with pride that we work, study, and spend a great deal of time in a place that — through its technical and technological solutions — brings together a historic monastery complex and the vision of a modern, ecologically responsible campus. The result is a unique ecosystem in which technology helps conserve resources and strengthen the faculty's resilience to climate change.

We asked the person best placed to speak on the subject — energy and building services manager Lukáš Duránik — for a practitioner's perspective on the "sustainable faculty" project. He certainly has plenty to say, having been with the faculty since its beginnings in 2002. "From a building operations management perspective, this isn't just about ecology — it's also about economic sustainability. Reducing energy costs and managing resources efficiently are investments that pay off for the faculty in the long run. Our goal is for the Faculty of Information Technology to be not only a leader in IT education, but also an inspiration for how a modern institution can take care of its surroundings and resources," he says by way of introduction.

Four pillars of a sustainable campus

FIT's transformation into a sustainable reality rests on four pillars. All of them have their origins in the first decade of the 21st century, when the faculty campus underwent major reconstruction and expansion. The primary and most extensive pillar is energy management — from solar energy to the heat generated by server operations. This is an environment where cutting-edge research and high-performance computing systems run around the clock; efficient energy use is therefore the top priority. The faculty's buildings have been equipped with photovoltaics since 2008. In recent months, a large array of modern solar panels was installed on buildings M, N, and O. Lukáš Duránik notes that this presented a technical challenge: the flat roofs of these buildings were not originally designed to bear the load of future photovoltaic installations, and it was necessary to minimise mounting fixings to avoid potential water ingress. The faculty currently operates in direct consumption mode, without battery storage or surplus feed-in. Part of the campus's electricity consumption is thus covered directly by solar energy, reducing both the carbon footprint and dependence on external sources.

Efficient boiler rooms are a matter of course: modern condensing boilers ensure that even conventional heating is carried out with maximum efficiency and minimal emissions. This is complemented by a smart heat recovery solution. The waste heat produced by servers and other technology is not simply vented outside — instead, a heat recovery unit captures residual heat from the exhaust air and uses it to pre-warm incoming fresh air. "It took us a long time to learn how to fine-tune the technology settings depending on the nature of operations, the number of students and staff, the event schedule, and changing outdoor conditions. Today it's second nature, and we're able to maintain the required temperature standards in a large number of rooms," says Duránik, adding that the system also controls the pre-cooling of lecture halls in summer using overnight cool air, without the need for air conditioning.

The second pillar of sustainable operations at the Faculty of Information Technology is water management — where every drop truly counts. Utility water is used wherever drinking water would be wasteful — typically for irrigating the extensive greenery across the campus or flushing large-capacity toilets. The total area of the faculty campus is approximately 18,400 m²; green areas account for nearly 6,000 m², not including the green roofs on the buildings (see below). This is, without exaggeration, a genuinely green campus. "Because we connect directly to the surrounding parkland and blend into it seamlessly, we have to tend the green areas intensively, including cultivation and new planting. We use utility water for irrigation and are able to keep the areas green even during the summer months," says Duránik. In the middle of the Královo Pole district of Brno, these green spaces serve as a refuge for insects — including stag beetles — and small fauna. Water management also involves a host of smart details, including the widespread installation of tap aerators and dual-flush systems throughout the campus. While these may seem unremarkable and are increasingly taken for granted, they generate significant savings given the volume of users — FIT has around 2,700 students and over 300 academic and other staff.

A feature that many visitors to the faculty may not immediately notice — and the third pillar of FIT's sustainable operations — are the green roofs on lecture complexes E, D, and most recently on part of building Q. Together they cover an area of approximately 1,700 m², with a typical soil layer thickness of between 10 and 20 cm. The drought-tolerant extensive vegetation acts as living insulation and is also a distinctive feature of the faculty's modern architecture. The plant species were chosen to withstand demanding weather and climatic conditions — frequent exposure to sunlight, wind, rain, frost, and extreme drought. The selection therefore favours hardy, low-maintenance, and drought-resistant species, including cotoneasters, sedums, and drought-tolerant perennials. The plants act as a natural filter and thermal shield, require minimal maintenance or replanting, cool the building in summer — thereby reducing air conditioning costs — and improve thermal insulation in winter.

We would hardly be a higher education institution dedicated to the most advanced technologies if we did not embrace the smart campus concept — the fourth and final pillar of the faculty's sustainability approach. Even in technical facilities management, our "DNA" shows. A comprehensive measurement and regulation system covering a wide range of operational components (based on a Honeywell solution) was installed when the campus reconstruction was completed, and at the time represented one of the largest such installations in Central and Eastern Europe. "Even today it is a fairly complex system. Our faculty was a pioneer within BUT in implementing a system of this scale. We also remain somewhat independent — we have our own BMS server." The campus management system encompasses security, access control, and CCTV, as well as the control of all sources such as ventilation, heating and cooling, and room temperature regulation. In the accommodation areas, for example, window vents are controlled by air quality (CO₂) sensors — in this hybrid ventilation setup, the building itself detects when ventilation is needed and activates it automatically. Motion sensors in bathrooms and corridors — now widely considered standard — eliminate unnecessary lighting. Outdoor lighting is switched by dusk sensors. Electric mobility, which has been in operation at FIT since 2021, is equally a matter of course: the faculty has its own electric vehicle for operational use, supporting clean mobility.

A concept ahead of its time

Many of the features described above may give the impression of being standard today. It should not be forgotten, however, that many were installed some 20 years ago, during the reconstruction and expansion of the campus — a process that took place over the extended period from 2001 to 2013, with the last new building being the Q building (Research Centre for Information Technology). The measurement and regulation system in buildings L, M, N, and O, for instance, was installed two decades ago and is now due for inevitable modernisation — many of the suppliers of the original equipment no longer exist. Looking ahead, questions arise around the compatibility of new installations with existing ones, the financial demands of upgrades, and the need to replace cabling and pipework.

What other challenges lie in the near future? Lukáš Duránik mentions the planned construction of the southern clausura. "Everything is currently at the project documentation stage. The plan is to take another technological step forward. We would like to install ground-source boreholes, heat pumps, and rainwater retention systems on the site. It would be the final, proverbial cherry on top of the campus development." The project is set within the historic fabric of the former monastery, completing a missing section of what were once enclosed cloisters forming a courtyard — the outline of which is today indicated by a walkable grating.

Finally, the inevitable question: what is his favourite spot in the FIT campus? "Probably the courtyard between buildings A and C, right where we're standing now. But overall I'm proud of the whole campus. When I visited universities in Norway, Austria, and Spain, I came back each time with the feeling that we have nothing to be ashamed of," concludes Lukáš Duránik. The planet is not an inexhaustible resource, and each of us bears a share of responsibility for protecting it and living sustainably. Our conscience is eased somewhat by the fact that we work and study in a place where sustainability is not merely a theoretical slogan.