Sustainability in Architecture
Sustainability is a key part to any project and is a major influence in the design approach. Some factors taken into consideration are as follows:
· minimising energy costs
· maximising natural light
· natural cross ventilation
· use of thermal mass construction
· use of renewable resources
· reduction in atmospheric pollution
· use of passive solar gain
· use of local or recycled materials
· re-use of grey water
As architects, we are ideally placed to help our clients to reduce their carbon emissions and reduce their ongoing running and maintenance costs as part of their building or refurbishment project.
Since the introduction of the Government’s Feed-in Tariff (FIT) and Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) schemes, the payback time for renewable energy technologies has been significantly reduced. This has led to an increase in demand for such technologies and a need to engage people who understand how they work and when they are appropriate to use.
We have worked with consultants and installers on a number of projects which utilise solar thermal hot water panels, photo-voltaic panels, bio-mass boilers, ground source and air source heat pumps, and others. If this is of interest, we would be happy to provide you with more information.
