The case for Centres of Excellence in sustainable building design

gaps have been filled by a new type of professional, a sustainability consultant
or code assessor, who understands aspects of the regulations or environmental
assessment methods in detail and can use software to generate the necessary
calculations and certification for new buildings.
The field has no recognised codes of practice or professional standards and work
is often undertaken by consultants from wide-ranging backgrounds who may not
be conversant with the principles of building physics, or even engineering. There
are many competing competency schemes run by professional engineering
institutions, trade associations and private sector businesses. This lack of
consistency results in enormous variations in the standard of service provided
by practitioners.
In contrast with the field of civil and structural engineering, where rigorous
method and education for integrated design exists, the field of environmental
design is presently dominated by single issue, tick box methodologies. These
methodologies cannot therefore evaluate integrated performance nor the benefit
of good design, yet they are increasingly being used as substitutes for properly
developed environmental design strategies.
There are now numerous single issue assessment methods applied to various
aspects of building performance required by regulation, such as the Energy
Performance Certificate (EPC) and Display Energy Certificate (DEC). There are also
a number of broader environmental assessments, such as the Building Research
Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), Leadership in
Energy Efficient Design (LEED) and the Code for Sustainable Homes. However,
these assessments also amount to little more than tick box evaluations across a
variety of single issues.
In many cases the application of these environmental performance assessments
is undertaken by experienced building designers. However, it is equally true
that, in many cases, sustainability assessors with little experience in the design
or construction of buildings are being asked to lead the environmental design,
or to advise on the application of renewable energy technologies for various
government-funded initiatives. In some cases only two or three days of basic
training with an exam administered by the training provider is required to qualify
as an assessor. There is no prerequisite that such a “qualified” professional really
knows how to design a building.
Thus the design of buildings, which has often seen little collaboration between
the disciplines, has become fragmented. A design team may often now comprise
many separate disciplines; architect, structural engineer, building services
engineer, sustainability consultant and code assessor, all vying to be seen as the
champion of sustainability. However these teams often still fail to communicate
and co-operate to make the key strategic decisions that will reduce the need for
mechanical and electrical solutions to comfort and climate control.
The solution to these pressing problems is to ensure that those responsible
for design decisions have a thorough understanding of both the theory and
application of building science as it relates to energy conservation. There is a clear
need for identifiable competency in building physics and environmental design,
as there is for civil and structural engineers and for building services engineers.
Furthermore it is essential that those procuring buildings understand the
distinction between practitioners who are experienced and qualified to design
energy efficient buildings and those that are qualified merely to measure the
results of the design.
20 The Royal Academy of Engineering