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Building the net-zero generation COMMENT
Imran Kassim from AHR Architects says that in creating a new generation of net-zero carbon schools, designers would benefit from a Passivhaus-style rule book
D
elivering effective solutions to address climate change has always proved to be one of the pre-eminent challenges for the entire construction industry. Commissioning bodies,
quite rightly, view it as a key measure of success for any project, and now there is a recognition that ambitious carbon reduction measures are required to make a meaningful contribution to the global effort to reduce greenhouse gases.
The sector has specific challenges when it comes to delivering clean economic growth; including low profitability, slow rates of innovation and a heavy reliance on fossil fuels. The drive for higher standards of sustainability comes at a time when the demand for new developments continues strongly – from the ongoing housing shortfall to new hospitals. In education, a report by The Guardian in December 2019 found that 3,731 schools need immediate building work. This figure rises to 9,872 when factoring in schools that are expected to require work within the next two years. The scale of the
challenge is bigger still, as these numbers exclude the work being led by the Department for Education to extend existing buildings and build new schools to cope with predicted demographic growth. If the UK’s emissions are to be cut, many of these projects will need to be delivered to a net-zero carbon standard, posing a significant challenge to an industry that has traditionally been slow to innovate.
The challenge of delivering net-zero carbon Progress towards achieving carbon reductions for new school building projects has, in effect, been designed to incrementally improve their energy efficiency. For instance, via improved insulation that reduces U-values; and some good gains have been made here. However, in order to achieve net-zero, a paradigm shift is required.
Pound Hill Junior School
ADF NOVEMBER 2020
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
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