This document summarizes a presentation given by Whole Building Engineers on approaches to sustainable building design. It discusses how the company works to design highly efficient and sustainable buildings through a whole building approach. It also acknowledges the limitations of certification schemes and emphasizes setting clear sustainability aspirations and ensuring buildings meet operational targets through approaches like establishing an energy budget, soft landings, and monitoring after completion.

1. SUSTAINABILITY IN
PRACTICE
LOW CARBON SOUTH WEST
BUSINESS BREAKFAST
MAY 2017

2. WHOLE BUILDING ENGINEERS
We’re engineers. We work closely
with architects to design buildings
that really work. This means we’re
concerned with the big picture and
the small detail of buildings.

3. MAX FORDHAM
Founded 1966
Offices in London, Edinburgh,
Cambridge, Manchester and
Bristol
215 staff, 166 engineers
One of the largest independent
practices in the county
International award winning
presence
Over 4000 projects

4. OUR APPROACH
WHOLE BUILDING DESIGN
We engineer air, light, sound and energy
BUILDING SERVICES
& LOW ENERGY DESIGN
BUILDING ACOUSTICS
SUSTAINABILITY BUILDING PHYSICS RENEWABLE ENERGY
ENVELOPE PERFORMANCE

5. BUILDING SUSTAINABLY
“How can we design (and build) a
building that is an exemplar in
efficiency and sustainability?”

6. COMMUNICATING SUSTAINABILITY
O Complex projects, not easy to ‘categorize’
O Client aspirations and passion
O How to define sustainability in these circumstances?
O Funding requirements
O Planning sensitivities
O Multi-headed client
O Many stakeholders

7. ACCREDITATION

8. CERTIFICATION– BENEFITS AND
LIMITATIONS
O Pros
O Externally certified rigorous
process – credible
O Required (for
planning/funding)
O Well understood
O Comparable
O Expected
O Cons
O Time and paperwork
intensive
O Can potentially incentivise
perverse choices
O Could reward design
elements potentially
considered unimportant
O May not deal with some
issues successfully

9. CERTIFICATION OPTIONS
Scheme Owned/
operated by
Origin Limitations
BREEAM BRE UK As built performance; Sustainable
operation

10. BREEAM LIMITATIONS
Not dealt with successfully (or at all):
O As built performance
O Energy
O Water
O Changing conditions / operation
O Sustainable operation
O Operational waste
O Sustainable procurement and consumables
O Education

11. CERTIFICATION OPTIONS
Scheme Owned/
operated by
Origin Limitations
BREEAM BRE UK As built performance; Sustainable operation;
Overly prescriptive and inflexible
LEED USGBC US Costly; couched in monetary savings not carbon
reduction terms; fiscal contributions for credits
Living Building
Challenge
Living Future
Institute
Canada Not widely known/used
WELL standard IWBI US Focus on health, removes personal choice?,
developed for US market
Sentinel Haus Sentinel Haus
Institute
Germany One topic focused- air quality
Passivhaus Passivhaus
Institute
Germany One topic focused- energy
One Planet
Living
Bioregional UK Descriptive rather than technical targets, very
flexible

12. ALTERNATIVES TO CERTIFICATION
O Max Fordham Sustainability Matrix
O Soft Landings
O Setting Energy Budgets

13. THE SUSTAINABILITY MATRIX

14. FRAMING THE CONVERSATION
What is important?

15. FRAMING THE CONVERSATION
Minimum
Standard
Best Practice Innovative Pioneering
What is the range of possibilities?

16. SETTING THE ASPIRATIONS
Materials
Biodiversity
Water-use
Climate change
adaptation
In-use energy
Daylighting
Smart Homes
Minimum
Standard
Best Practice Innovative Pioneering

17. THE HEELIS, NATIONAL TRUST HQ

18. THE HEELIS, NATIONAL TRUST HQ

19. Sustainability Overview
√ √
√ √ √
√ √ √

20. THE PERFORMANCE GAP
O How do you make all this happen in practice?
O How do you avoid issues due to:
O Erosion of ideals during design / VE
O Quality of construction
O Quality / completeness of commissioning
O Unexpected building usage?

21. KEYNSHAM CIVIC CENTRE
CLIENTS BRIEF:
Ultimately, the success of the building will be judged on its operational energy
use and resultant carbon emissions. Therefore, the current aspiration is that
the development should achieve a DEC rating of A by the end of the second full
year of operation.
© Daniel Hopkinson / AHR 2014

22. KEYNSHAM CIVIC CENTRE MATRIX

23. Procuring Soft Landings
O Low energy design- the easy bit!
O The Sustainability Matrix
O Energy budget
O Energy risk management
O Use lessons learnt from past projects
O Manage VE
O Embed in contract
O Aftercare programme
O Lessons learnt again……
OUR APPROACH

24. LOW ENERGY DESIGN (the easy bit!)
ACTUAL OPERATIONAL ENERGY
ACHIEVING A DEC A

25. ENERGY RISK REGISTER

26. Energy use
category
Annual energy
budget
Within
contractor’s control
Outside
contractor’s control
Assumptions:
Lighting
Lux levels
Power density
Controls as specified
Task lights
Hours of operation
External illuminance
31,000 kWh
16,000 kgCO2
EMBEDDING INTO THE CONTRACT

27. AFTERCARE: MONITORING &
VERIFICATION

28. KEYNSHAM ENERGY DEC

29. KEYNSHAM LIGHTING ENERGY

30. SUMMARY
O Understand what sustainability means in each case.
O Set appropriate targets – understand what the client wants
the building for: helping a client get the building that they
actually need is part of sustainability!
O Make this happen in practice.

31. THANK YOU
SUSTAINABILITY IN PRACTICE
Henry Rock-Evans
16/05/17