Sustainability
We understand sustainable development to mean that the individual buildings and developments we provide today do not affect the ability of future generations to undertake their own development.
Essentially, we aim to minimize the environmental impact of the new building both during construction and over its lifetime.
We recommend that a benchmarking tool such as BREEAM should be used to measure the environmental impact of the new school building to ensure a sustainable development is achieved. Key environmental issues and achievable targets will be identified at the earliest possible stage.
Essentially, we aim to minimize the environmental impact of the new building both during construction and over its lifetime.
We recommend that a benchmarking tool such as BREEAM should be used to measure the environmental impact of the new school building to ensure a sustainable development is achieved. Key environmental issues and achievable targets will be identified at the earliest possible stage.
HOCA employ their expertise in sustainable and low-carbon design.
We use BREEAM both as a design tool and to measure our performance in delivering sustainable solutions for our buildings. It helps to ensure our aims are sufficiently targeted and challenging to make a real difference to the sustainability of a new building.
We develop a brief for the building and agree sustainability targets with clients and stakeholders. This is done with the aim of minimising environmental impact during construction and also over the lifetime of the building.
We use BREEAM both as a design tool and to measure our performance in delivering sustainable solutions for our buildings. It helps to ensure our aims are sufficiently targeted and challenging to make a real difference to the sustainability of a new building.
We develop a brief for the building and agree sustainability targets with clients and stakeholders. This is done with the aim of minimising environmental impact during construction and also over the lifetime of the building.
The main issues which we will consider are:
- Reducing Energy Use & CO2 emissions: improved insulation standards and thermal performance, best practice ventilation standards with minimum energy use, consider building orientation, thermal mass and shading to avoid summertime overheating. Make use of natural lighting and low energy artificial lighting, careful management of energy use.
- Renewable Energy: we consider the application of renewable energy to the site, including wind turbines, biomass heating, GSHP, photovoltaic and solar water heating. Consider combined heat, power, and groundwater cooling. Integrate with site-wide energy strategy.
- Minimising Water Usage: our design approach will include integration of recycled and rainwater use, reduced consumption appliances, and water management. Rainwater Harvesting Systems have been successfully employed in our previous projects.
- Resources: use of recycled or renewable materials where possible, select materials with lowest environmental impact, avoid potentially harmful or polluting materials, ensure timber is from sustainable resources.
- Land Use & Ecology: design to protect and enhance existing ecology both on and surrounding the site. Consider landscape plans for the site.
- Pollution: protect watercourses, minimise construction waste, noise, traffic and dust, use products with least environmental impact, avoid VOCs.
- Natural Lighting & Ventilation: we design to provide a healthy and safe environment for all building users, use natural lighting and natural ventilation where possible thereby avoiding internal pollutants.
- Management: environmental management policy, recycling of waste, staff training, low energy-use appliances, automatic controls to minimise energy use.
- Transport: co-ordinated policy to encourage public transport, cycling and walking - integrate with whole site strategies.
The following topics are examined in the design process at Feasibility Stage and where adopted are followed through in the detail design:
- Sub-metering of substantial energy uses
- External lighting
- Low or zero carbon technologies
- Water consumption - use of pressure taps but with sufficient ease to allow children to activate
- Water meter
- Major leak detection system
- Water recycling / grey water installation
- Material specification
- Design for recyclable waste storage
- Materials re-usage
Additionally, HOCA will also consider the following in relation to the provision of appropriate school environments:
- Archaeology
- Ecology - mitigating ecological impact
- Hydrology (Flood Plain Checks)
- Trees
- Social spaces
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The HOCA Practice made imaginative proposals about content and extended use of the building, which are helping with both capital and revenue funding of the project. In this sense The HOCA Practice is able both to respond to needs and to anticipate client's needs ..... |