Resilient Design
Sustainability is about
maintaining our well being – environmental, economic and
social – over the long term. Sustainable development
therefore must not only meet our current needs but also
must not compromise our ability to meet our future
needs. Sustainable urban development decouples, on one
hand, enhancing our quality of life from, on the other,
environmental pressures and damage. It allows us to do
the former without incurring the latter. This can be
achieved by using resources – space, materials, energy
and water – more carefully, more efficiently, and so
more sparingly.
How to act more sustainably can be
approached in many ways, ranging from a strict
engineering approach to the approach of an eco-warrior.
This practice brings bring an an
architecturally-oriented Architectural Science mindset to
sustainable design, building physics simulation and
modelling, and renewable technologies.
With a background in Architecture (and
an a posteriori understanding of the Lifetime
Homes standard and Part
M of the Building Regulations), this practice
takes a “people first” approach: urban developments must
be comfortable, functional and give delight to their
users now and in the future. Spaces must be comfortable
to live or work or learn in, they must be so without
damaging the environment, but they must still be
efficient to run. In order to do this it is not enough
to “believe” in sustainability, sustainability must be
well understood. This requires adequate knowledge of the
issues – together with commitment, endeavour, and
integrity. A background in Architectural Science and
knowledge of building physics allows an understanding of
how design choices affect the sustainability of
buildings and urban spaces. This practice is built on
this foundation.
This practice is concerned with the
design of buildings that are contemporary, demand little
energy and so produce little or no CO2,
have low environmental impact and anticipate climate
change, meet lifetime needs, and are affordable.
You can
contact Catherine Alexandra on 020 7148 3450 or 01933
788 500 or by using the contact form.
