Towards sustainable building design

Work recently undertaken at the University of Strathclyde, Department of Architecture, is concerned with the articulation of a management system that might support sustainable design. Aligned with the international standard ISO 14001, a system has been piloted in housing development projects around Glasgow, and offers a supporting framework for the implementation of agreed actions and addresses a number of key urban planning and building design tasks incorporating six related themes. This paper will discuss the context and introduce the themes of Human Impact (including consideration of quality of life issues, consultation and social inclusion, development factors, health factors, comfort levels, accessibility, public transportation, facilities for cyclists); Environmental Impact (including consideration of protection of local ecological features/biodiversity, environmental assessment); Pollution Prevention (including consideration of indoor air quality (emissions from equipment, out-gassing of toxins/radiations), elimination of toxins, control of pollutants during constructions); Sustainability Management (including consideration of integrated and systemic approaches e.g. sustainability/environmental performance targets, management systems and procedures, construction management, commissioning, dissemination workshops, post-occupancy feedback visits); Resource Efficiency (including consideration of, lean design, material use and recycling, embodied energy, water consumption and conservation); and Energy Efficiency (including consideration of, targets, benchmarks and best practice energy use, passive solar, renewable energy, thermal modelling, insulation, ventilation, heating, CHP, heat recovery.