AWARDS SPECIAL BUILDING PERFORMANCE
excellence in all areas of building design, commissioning, construction, installation and operation. The awards focus on actual measured performance, not design intent or performance specifications. The post-handover stage of a project
starts long before construction begins – it’s all in the planning – by looking at appropriate technology choices and approaching the design in a holistic way.
Arup design specialist Becci Taylor says this means engineers not being ‘lazy’. ‘You can design a building that meets sustainable criteria simply by using a list of technologies, but is that building cheaper to run and better to be in… does it delight?’ She told a debate at South Bank University that passively designed buildings provide a better experience for occupants and that ‘just because we have electricity we should not use it as an excuse to ignore opportunities to create pleasant spaces’. Designing for occupancy is crucial and
that means finding out what the occupant intends to do with their new building – we should also be designing for maintenance. It is not enough to throw technologies at
a building to tick as many planning boxes as possible. We are not about just doing enough to comply with legislation – the awards celebrate those who go far beyond. Existing buildings are where the big challenge lies – and here we can still apply
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the principle of the ‘energy hierarchy’ that you would apply to new structures. That starts with basic, low cost measures such as insulation and high quality glazing. Tackling thermal gain with passive additions will reduce need for air conditioning too. At stage two, we can look at adding intelligent controls systems and sensors to installed building services systems. Only once these basic measures are complete should building managers consider replacement technologies and, even then, they should first look at introducing new pumps or variable speed motors, which do not alter the set up of the system but can cut costs. How our systems are operated is crucial
and that means making behavioural change as easy as possible for occupants. Simplicity is crucial to give building occupants – most of whom are non-technical – a chance of maintaining systems at an energy efficient level in the long term. The CIBSE Building Performance
Awards are designed to highlight and reward engineering attempts to address these vital issues. Also, equally importantly, they seek to raise global awareness through the media of the growing importance of building services design and its influence on building operation and running costs. Without reducing demand across the
building stock, we are going to face an increasingly frantic battle to keep the lights on.
March 2013 CIBSE Journal 5
Without reducing demand across the building stock, we are going to face an increasingly frantic battle to keep the lights on
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