Retrofit Guides

Posted on: 19 January 2012
By: mackene
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To explore the business opportunities emerging from the low carbon building and retrofit market, the Institute for Sustainability has produced a series of ‘Building Opportunities for Business’ Retrofit Guides. The guides draw on leading academic and industry experts and provide practical and commercially focused advice and best practice to both trades and professions including architects, surveyors, builders, project managers, plumbers and electricians. The guides are: 1: Introduction; 2: Surveying and assessing buildings for low carbon retrofit; 3: Planning low carbon retrofit projects; 4: Funding and procurement for low carbon retrofit projects; 5: Managing low carbon retrofit projects; 6: Improving the building fabric; 7: Improving the building services; 8: Green retrofit; 9: Living in a low carbon home; 10: Identifying opportunities and promoting low carbon retrofit; 11: Promotion programmes for low carbon retrofit; 12: Skills, training and accreditation.

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Towards Intelligent Construction Conference. London, 30 November 2011

Posted on: 30 November 2011
By: mackene
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The Conference title was chosen to reflect the need for the construction industry to adopt new and more effective ways of working, in order to offer better construction solutions and to deliver much better value for clients and customers. It is not about suppliers making minor modifications at the margins but rather the need for a fundamental reshaping of the technologies, processes and relationships that are applied within the industry. This includes smarter build solutions including the increased use of offsite solutions, the application of the principles of design for manufacture and assembly, the use of lean production techniques to eliminate process waste and the increased and intelligent use of Building Information Modelling. The Conference featured two significant Case Studies, the first being the British Land project at 122 Leadenhall Street in the City of London. Commonly referred to as the Cheese-grater, this stunning and technically challenging development is being constructed by Laing O’Rourke and will be completed 6 months ahead of schedule through the application of intelligent construction techniques, including the use of Building Information Modelling, with the use of offsite manufactured components accounting for 85% of the building. The second Case Study featured the development programme of elective surgery hospitals by Circle Health Properties. This substantial investment programme is characterised by the requirement for excellence in design, excellence in construction, excellence in use and excellence in customer experience. The expert client in collaboration with their supply chain is constantly challenging what it does and why it does it, as well as taking the learning points from each hospital project and applying the lessons to their next projects. This process ensures that tangible benefits in terms of more effective design and construction techniques, reduced cost of ownership, provision for adaptation, and the development of clinical and customer services are being achieved in a way that also ensures that waste in all its forms is being eliminated. The client’s supply chain is deploying Building Information Modelling both to manage the overall design and construction process and to drive efficiency in the building form. Presentations featuring both case studies are available online.

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Low carbon design: The power to deliver change. Bristol, 22 November 2011

Posted on: 22 November 2011
By: isadm
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This RIBA event provided an opportunity to consider how we put into practice the latest thinking on sustainability, retrofit and low carbon technology, and the role of architects and built environment professionals in shaping the policy framework in which we work. A brief overview of the issues discussed is outlined in the twitter diary written by RIBA Yorkshire’s Ruth Donnelly.

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The Rational House

Posted on: 2 November 2011
By: mackene
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A prototype home for urban development has been built on a site in Fulham, west London. The Rational House is designed to Code for Sustainable Homes level 4, complies with the new London Housing Design Guide and is constructed using precast concrete.  The house has been originated by architect Robert Dalziel and engineer Tim Battle, directors of Rational House, to provide high density, low rise, sustainable homes with design and quality at an affordable cost. The prototype, which is being marketed through estate agent Jackson-Stops & Staff, is already generating interest and the design has been included in Barratt East London’s bid to develop a legacy site from the London 2012 Olympics in Stratford, east London.

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Guide to localism: Opportunities for architects

Posted on: 1 November 2011
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As the Localism Bill makes its final passage through Parliament, the RIBA has published two new guides for architects, outlining how the role of the architect can change under the new approach to planning and highlighting the crucial role that they have to play in helping communities understand the potential of their local built environment and prepare neighbourhood plans.

Guide to localism – Part 1: Neighbourhood planning

The first guide introduces the proposed changes to the planning system and outlines how this will affect architects, before highlighting how architects can use their design skills to get involved in the development of neighbourhood plans.

Guide to localism – Part 2: Getting community engagement right 

The second guide shows how architects can enable local communities to participate fully in shaping the way their local area looks and feels, highlighting key principles of successful, meaningful engagement.

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Guides on low impact building materials

Posted on: 26 October 2011
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A series of five information papers for architects, specifiers, materials suppliers and building contractors on low impact building materials is being launched on 31 October 2011. The introductory guides published by IHS BRE Press provide an overview of the benefits and limitations of using various low impact building materials in construction projects. Materials covered in the series are hemp lime, straw bale, unfired clay masonry, cross-laminated timber and natural fibre insulation. Each publication examines the key properties of the respective materials and features research carried out at the University of Bath alongside input from industry experts with commercial experience of the materials’ application in major construction projects.

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Why tall? Green safety and humanity. Seoul, 10-12 October 2011

Posted on: 12 October 2011
By: isadm
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The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) 2011 World Conference aimed to shed new light on the meaning and value of tall buildings in the modern society from the perspectives of green, safety, and humanity. Proceedings of the event are available online, including 200 papers.

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Archinect blogs

Posted on: 10 October 2011
By: mackene
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This provides a blogging platform to all members of the architecture and design community to start and manage a blog that reflects each persons own distinct interests, skills and experience. At the moment, there are 6 different types of blogs: school blogs (by students, instructors, faculty, etc.); professional blogs (discussing issues related to the practice and/or business of our industries); travel blogs;  design blogs (covering issues related to design); technical blogs (nerdy stuff, like CAD tips, Rhino tutorials, programming, etc.); and general blogs.

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Guidance on the design and construction of sustainable, low carbon mixed use buildings

Posted on: 6 October 2011
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The last in the series of the five Target Zero Guidance reports is now available. The report contains invaluable information for professionals responsible for the design of mixed-use buildings. Its findings demonstrate that the 2010 Part L compliance target of reducing operational carbon emissions by 25% is readily achievable using a package of compatible, cost-effective energy efficiency measures. The study provides guidance for the fifth of the five building types covered by the Target Zero project, the mixed-use building, which comprises office and hotel accommodation. The report investigates three priority areas of sustainable construction: operational carbon emissions, BREEAM assessment rating and embodied carbon. Target Zero is a programme of work, funded by Tata Steel and the British Constructional Steelwork Association, to provide guidance on the design and construction of sustainable, low and zero carbon buildings in the UK. Five non-domestic building types have been analysed: a school, a distribution warehouse, a supermarket, a medium to high rise office and a mixed-use building.

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Innovation in redesign cities. Gdansk, Poland, 18-20 September 2011

Posted on: 18 September 2011
By: mackene
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In the framework of Polish Presidency of the EU Council the European Forum for Architectural Policies organised this international  conference. The goals of the conference were: to indicate an innovative role of architecture in redesign of European cities that is aimed at their development and increase of attractiveness, while challenged by global competition; to indicate an innovative role of architecture and urban design in sustainability and harmony of urban environment, while responding to the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth; to indicate an innovative role of architecture that aims at the life quality, as opposed to short-term and territory-limited profits of mostly financial character, observed at all levels: national and regional, municipal, corporate and individual; to indicate a need for cooperation of the state and local authorities, the NGOs, research institutes and profession in support of innovative architecture; to indicate the needed actions, carried by EU and governmental bodies in processing the redesign of European cities’ structure; to indicate the priorities of the Architectural Policy, accepted by all parties engaged in innovation and architectural quality, aimed at sustainable.

A video summarising the main issues debated at the conference and illustrated by several case studies and site visits is also available here.

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