HB has made sustainable design a central part of our company ethos. Our awareness of the environmental impact of buildings underpins our ambitions as a socially and environmentally responsible practice.
Sustainable design and construction of buildings requires the application of many disciplines and impacts on the entire process from concept to completion through the lifetime of a building to
demolition and beyond. HB has experience in advising clients on how to optimise the internal environment through appropriate materials specification and other indoor environmental strategies.
In order to ensure we continue to successfully implement and develop energy and environmental modelling capabilities we work closely with IES. As part of our drive to maintain and improve
our energy efficient approach to design we have increased and developed the use of computer modelling and Dynamic Modelling, investing in our in-house Integrated Environmental Systems
Software. Sustainability embellishes the environmental, social and economic impacts of the development. Most of these are encapsulated by BREEAM. This is an internationally recognised
environmental assessment methodology, which can be used to assess both new build and refurbishment projects across a range of sustainability criteria. It has been shown that adherence to
BREEAM criteria results in an assured high quality product.
Integrated Approach to Sustainable Building Design
- Collaborate with the design team at the earliest stage of the design process to generate the most effective solution.
- Fully understand the environmental design issues, architectural priorities, and engineering requirements, based on detailed evaluation of the site context.
- Seek ‘holistic’ solutions so that environmental design, architecture and engineering complement each other – integrated design.
- Develop and test strategic options which seek to balance the environmental design requirements with occupant comfort requirements.
- Identify the implications of the environmental design options to energy consumption, CO2 emissions and wider environmental impacts.
- Continuous involvement with the design team when the project develops beyond the outlined design stage.