ENVIRONMENT
Buildings are a significant source of global carbon emissions. Modern UK standards for new buildings are incrementally reducing these however still leave room for improvement. Existing buildings –over 10nyears old- constitute by far the greater percentage of our national building stock but mostly have poor or retrograde energy performance. Low energy building design and refurbishment have, in response to these challenges, become mainstream activities within the profession and wider construction industry.
The directors of ABW have an established track record in low carbon design gained over many years and are well-qualified to implement the right approach for each situation. In its most basic form this may involve simply satisfying existing regulations in order to progress the project. Passive measures such as building orientation, form and using building mass to control temperature rises represent simple and effective strategies which can also be utilised. In addition to these, where required, there also exist opportunities to implement a range of measures in order to reduce the carbon footprint of a project and deliver greater savings to running costs.
ABW have successfully used various measures in recent educational and private domestic projects: ground source heat pump technology, solar thermal energy, thermal storage systems, green roof coverings, high levels of thermal insulation, combined heat and power systems and heat recovery techniques. Each client and project are unique and require bespoke solutions. For example, in the past, the directors have developed –in conjunction with DIY Kyoto- an energy wall which displays consumption by colour for the benefit of the occupants or end-users. ABW continue to improvise where necessary and currently act as masterplanners for a University campus which was awarded the national accolade of Environmental Pioneer in 2010.
