Sustainability Modelling & Architecture

Sustainability modeling is becoming increasingly important, both with shifting legislation and clients eager to embrace the sustainability agenda. But who is best placed to help clients achieve their sustainability aims? There are various building professionals able to assist clients with this, from energy assessors, to services engineers, to architects.

Beneath the choice of who to choose to advise on sustainability is a central question:

‘What sort of sustainability do you want?’

Do you want bolt on measures that are added as an afterthought – for example the small wind turbine mounted on a building in a built-up area? Or would you prefer solutions that are fully integrated into the building? These are often better technologies, affecting the basic fabric of the building. It is in the basic design of the building that the biggest sustainability benefits can be achieved.

For this reason, Archangel firmly believes that architects should be driving forward the sustainability agenda, and so we have developed our expertise in this area. Our aim is, as it always has been, to create ‘Good Buildings’ – not only in being attractive and meeting the function needs of accommodation, but resource-efficient buildings that wear their eco credentials lightly, that don’t preach at you.

We can call this eco-minimalism. This approach is particularly relevant for conservation situations, where the inappropriate use of technology can have a potentially disastrous conservation impact. To achieve eco-minimalist design, however, demands an architect who is fully in command of the sustainability agenda, and of tools that enable him to fine-tune a design for its sustainability impact.

Energy Balance Evaluation example

Archangel offers 3 levels of sustainability input:
1. An audit of existing accommodation from both the construction and the services points of view
2. In the context of a building project – whether new build, extension or refurbishment – we would model the existing arrangement and the proposals, and provide comparative data on the energy usage and carbon footprint of both existing and proposed. This is included within our normal architectural service at no extra cost; a sample report is shown here:
3. Where the project justifies more extensive sustainability design, we can provide more detailed modeling and energy analysis, including producing draft Energy Performance Certificates etc; we can then demonstrate the carbon impact of changes to the specification as the design is developed. This is an additional service that is charged for separately.