This building has been build to achieve a Breeam excellent rating. Breeam assessments involve how the building is made, what it is made of, and how it will affect the people using it.
It is very important to understand this before construction starts. The construction company was vital in achieving our goal of an excellent rating. Such details include an Ecology report, the use of recycled materials and materials that come from reusable sources. Fuel water and electricity use is monitored and reported against targets to insure use is kept to a minimum.
Good building management is crucial to the building’s performance as it has an impact throughout the building’s life. BREEAM looks at how the building is managed so it is important to ensure someone is responsible for maintaining optimum performance.
BREEAM awards credits where the environment is designed to maximise occupant control; for example in heating, lighting, air quality and noise. On average we spend 90 per cent of our time in buildings, therefore it is imperative that the internal environment of the buildings we live, work and play in offers us the most appropriate surroundings, as ultimately our environment is major contributor to our quality of life.
The CO2 emitted from the operation of buildings in the UK accounts for over 50 per cent of the total UK CO2 emissions. BREEAM looks at how companies can reduce CO2 emissions from building operations and looks at aspects such as low energy lights, metering, ‘A’ rated white goods and energy management.
Businesses can also minimise CO2 emissions from transport to and from a building. This includes the location of the development, parking and cyclist facilities and access to public transport and local amenities.
Designers and clients can influence new building occupiers to use water more sparingly. BREEAM credits are awarded where companies take measures such as water efficient appliances (e.g. low flush toilets), water metering, leak detection systems and use of water butts. BREEAM also rewards the use of materials with a low embodied energy i.e. ‘A’ rated, responsibly resourced materials and the use of recycled materials.
Companies gain credits if they think about the location they are building on, minimise the effects of pollution and make best use of their footprint. There are also a number of environmental effects of pollution ranging from acid rain, depletion of the ozone to waste water flooding to take into consideration.
The extent to which the above are considered as part of the building’s design has an impact on how high the BREEAM rating awarded is.
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