Citation
Todd, S. (2010), "Internet review", Structural Survey, Vol. 28 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ss.2010.11028cag.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Internet review
Article Type: Internet review From: Structural Survey, Volume 28, Issue 3
The web site information included below includes two key and other informative sites. If there are any other interesting sites or sources of information that you have found useful, please e-mail me at: s.todd@salford.ac.uk
Building research establishment
The “Spotlight” section includes information on:
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BREEAM Awards for the best of the best sustainable buildings.
The buildings awards were drawn from those achieving Excellent ratings under various BREEAM schemes during 2009. To gain an Excellent rating developments must earn most of the performance credits available in the areas of: energy, materials, waste, water, ecology, pollution, transport, management, and health and wellbeing. The Award winners are:
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BREEAM Bespoke – awarded to the new Bletchley Leisure Centre, a key element in the regeneration of Central Bletchley, designed by Holder Mathias Architects and constructed by SDC for Milton Keynes Council. The design team took particular care to minimise the environmental costs in use, for example by incorporating a biomass boiler and reducing water consumption wherever possible.
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BREEAM Courts – awarded to Salisbury Law Court, one of the new combined court centres commissioned by Her Majesty’s Courts Service. It accommodates wide ranging facilities whilst providing a building that is highly energy efficient, maximises natural ventilation and reduces water consumption. Architects: Stride Treglown, Contractor: Mansell Construction.
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BREEAM Ecohomes – awarded to the Sanderstead Road development in Croydon, which comprises a block of 38 flats and two blocks of semi-detached, four bedroom houses. The development’s sustainable features include the use of highly insulated and responsibly procured timber frames, resulting in good thermal performance and environmentally sound construction. Client: Metropolitan Housing Trust, Architect: AHP Architects & Surveyors Limited, Contractor: Mansell Construction.
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BREEAM Further Education – awarded to Loreto Sixth Form College in Manchester for its new Learning Skills Council funded building which includes a learning resource centre, ICT facilities and a library. The project managers, AA Projects, were tasked with delivering a state-of-the-art teaching facility that promotes sustainable design to the college and its wider community. Architect: Taylor Young Ltd, Contractor: Bardsley Construction Ltd.
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BREEAM Industrial – awarded to Defra’s Veterinary Laboratories Agency Stores facility near Weybridge in Surrey. Aiming for the best possible green strategy from the very outset of the project, Defra and all members the design team worked together to achieve an exceptionally high overall BREEAM score of nearly 84 per cent. Architect: Wilson Mason & Partners, Contractor: Walter Lilly.
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BREEAM International – awarded to Centrum Galerie, Dresden’s biggest shopping mall and the first building in Germany – and the first shopping mall in continental Europe – to receive BREEAM Excellent. The development combines the careful use of resources and optimal energy and space consumption, with the use of advanced energy saving and other technologies. Client: Multi Veste Dresden GmbH, Architect: Peter Kulka Architektur Dresden GmbH Developer: Multi Development Germany GmbH.
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BREEAM Multi-Residential – awarded to Carnegie Village at Leeds Metropolitan University, which provides 479 student study bedrooms in “cluster flat” and “townhouse” arrangements. This includes two Passivhaus townhouses. Client: University Partnership Programme Ltd, Architect: GWP Architecture Ltd, Contractor: Shepherd Construction Ltd.
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BREEAM Offices – awarded to Horizon House in Bristol, the Environment Agency’s new corporate office – which scored a superb 85 per cent under BREEAM. Developed by Westmark, Horizon House admirably meets the brief for a commercially viable building that also has the highest environmental standards - these were key to securing the Environment Agency’s tenancy.
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BREEAM Prisons – awarded to the new accommodation blocks at Littlehey II Young Offenders’ Institute. Among the new buildings’ many environmental attributes are its biomass heating system which provides more than 30 per cent of annual heating, a modular construction with outstanding thermal performance and integrated high performance M&E design. Client: Ministry of Justice, Architect: Capita Symonds/Premier Interlink Waco UK Ltd, Contractor: Wates Construction Ltd.
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BREEAM Retail – awarded to White River Place in St Austell, a joint venture by the South West Regional Development Agency and White River Developments. As a major local development, community interaction and involvement was taken very seriously and construction materials and employees were locally sourced wherever possible. Client: White River Developments Ltd, Architect: Chetwoods Architects, Contractor: Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd.
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BREEAM Schools – awarded to Rogiet Primary School, designed by White Design and built by Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd for Monmouthshire County Council, working together as a close team in a “partnering” approach. Sustainable design principles have been followed from the outset, and integrated with the children’s education. For example, landscape design includes a nature garden area and a pond for wildlife study, and an eco-wall in the library includes displays of energy use and rainwater capture.
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OGC Special Award for Government Sector Achievement – awarded to Defra’s Lion House which was originally assessed and certified under BREEAM 2006 but has now been reassessed under BREEAM 2008 and is the first building in the world under BREEAM Offices 2008 to receive a final Outstanding rating.
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First BREEAM Industrial (Interim) Outstanding Rating for G Park Blue Planet. This 35,500m2 building was the first development to achieve an interim Outstanding rating under the new BREEAM 2008. Highlights of its sustainability include a plan to power the whole development through a biomass plant located on one edge of the site to provide heating and electricity, highly water efficient fittings, a rainwater harvesting system and significant ecological enhancement of the site. Developers Gazeley estimate that the environmental features in the building will save up to £300,000 a year in running costs.
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First BREEAM Offices 2008 (Interim) Outstanding rating awarded to Stride Treglown’s new office in Cardiff, due for completion in 2010. This building is designed to accommodate over 50 staff on two floors in an open studio arrangement. It adopts a paper insulated Structurally Insulated Panel System (SIPs) for supporting walls, roof and floors. The building is located on a former industrial service yard and provides facilities for cycle storage, showers and drying facilities, whilst car share parking spaces are given priority. Green Guide A or A+ rated materials are used throughout.
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First BREEAM Europe Retail awarded to Unibail-Rodamco’s Docks 76, which is the new 36,000 m2 shopping and leisure centre in Rouen. Both the Agrivin and Docks buildings, which are part of Docks 76, achieved the first certification under the new BREEAM Europe Retail scheme for shell and core at the design stage. Particular features of the design, which helped achieve this rating including the re-use of an existing building on-site, thereby avoiding the environmental impact of demolition and reconstruction, and a 20 per cent reduction of electricity consumption through the use of natural ventilation. The development also incorporates leak detection systems and water-saving features and the use of water by visitors is expected to be reduced by 30 per cent.
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First BREEAM In-Use International awarded to the British Embassy, Berlin which was originally opened by HM The Queen in July 2000 and is managed by Johnson Controls GWS on behalf of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. It achieved a ‘Very Good’ rating for Part 1: Asset Performance and Part 2: Building Management Performance under the new scheme. BREEAM In-Use was launched in March 2009 to help building managers reduce the running costs and improve the environmental performance of existing buildings. BREEAM assessors TPS Consult played a key role in the development of this new scheme specifically for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
For those who have not yet visited BRE’s Innovation Park I would highly recommend it. There are links from the main page of the web site to the Innovation Park which features more than 300 different construction innovations and emerging technologies. The following buildings are currently on the Park:
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Barratt Green House – the first house on the Innovation Park to be built by a mainstream house builder, the Green House achieves Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. High levels of thermal mass in the structure will reduce the need for cooling during the hotter summers predicted to be a feature of climate change, and flexible internal spaces allow different layouts to suit changing family needs. High performance triple glazing and thermally-broken wooden frames allow sufficient glazing to bring daylighting across the depth of the accommodation. The distinctive shutters are an attractive feature, but also optimise solar gain, control overheating and prevent glare - and offer potential insulation benefits. A whole-house mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery (MVHR) warms incoming fresh air using heat from air being exhausted from the building, and circulates it to the habitable rooms by a ductwork system.
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EcoTech Organics House – The EcoTECH Organics home system has been designed to be affordable and low maintenance, and to make sustainable homes accessible to more people. The Organics house on the Innovation Park is a three-storey dwelling comprising a self-contained apartment on the ground floor, and a two-bedroom home on the first and second floors. It took 14 days to build - from the very first panel arriving on site, to putting in the final fixtures and fitting. This house is just one configuration of a system that ranges from studio apartments to five bedroom houses. There are also a variety of finishes available. This allows for the construction of sustainable homes that can be both mass produced and designed to suit the individual needs of the area in which they are located, and the people who will live in them. The system is constructed using factory-made panels and pods with a single mains service core. The factory manufacture of building components reduces waste and allows for greater quality control – with all components being precision made and fitted. This leads to improved energy performance through increased airtightness and avoids cold bridging.
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Hanson EcoHouse – constructed using traditional building materials, precisely assembled to conform to the best principles of innovative methods of construction. Two years of tests on the house have demonstrated the benefits of high levels of thermal mass, which were achieved with pre-fabricated masonry external walls, heavyweight block internal partitions, and a pre-cast staircase and concrete floors. This mass allows the building to store heat during warm periods and release it during cooler spells or at night. The tests proved the house’s ability to stay cooler in summer and warmer for longer in winter. The house is naturally ventilated with a central stair core below the roof opening, the design maximises convection by drawing hot air up through a brick stack and out of the chimney, while simultaneously drawing in cool fresh air at a low level. A solar collector and ground source heat pump helps meet the house’s energy needs. SUDS compliant external paving allows rainwater to pass through it and into a tanked sub-base. This combines with a layer of flexible piping linked to the ground source heat pump, to provide space heating and domestic hot water. The water is also filtered so that it is suitable for flushing toilets and watering plants.
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Kingspan Lighthouse – this super insulated, airtight house, designed to encourage a more sustainable lifestyle, has achieved Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. Renewable energy technologies include a biomass boiler, a wind catcher, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, building integrated photovoltaics and a solar-thermal array. The house’s integrated sustainable technologies include water efficiency techniques such as low volume sanitary ware and appliances. Around 30 per cent of the water in the house is provided from rainwater harvesting or grey water recycling systems.
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Natural House – demonstrates a simple, low-tech and easy to build alternative for volume housebuilders seeking to meet increasingly stringent low carbon targets for new homes. The solid walls of the house are made from strong, lightweight clay blocks that have high levels of thermal insulation, but lower embodied energy than conventional bricks. The walls are a single skin of aerated clay blocks with external lime render and internal woodfibre board providing good insulation. The roof tiles are clay and floors and windows made from FSC certified timber. The simple construction minimises the need for specialist training and maximises the speed of construction. The house can be constructed in a range of architectural forms including paired dwellings, squares and terraces. It can be subdivided to form a family home, maisonette or smaller flat, reflecting changing demographics and needs over the long term. The use of natural, non-toxic materials aims to provide a healthy environment, while the design encourages air movement that obviates the need for air-conditioning.
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Osborne House – shows that high quality, sustainable housing can be delivered affordably and in volume. The design is based on an adaptable combination of structural insulated panels, which create a structural shell that incorporates the internal leaf of external walls and party walls. In this house the shell includes the first and second floors topped by a roof system that can contain a room in the roof space. Siberian larch has been used to clad the front of the house, with recycled plastic slates to the side, Eternit boarding to the rear, and a zinc finish to the roof. The pathways around the house have been made with permeable paving. Inside there is a heat recovery ventilation system, under floor heating using hot water circulation, electric skirting board heating, low use sanitary ware and temperature control taps. This house illustrates how renewable building materials, such as hemp, wood and wool, provide excellent options for constructing low carbon, practical and affordable modern housing.
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Renewable House – the key features of the Renewable House include: Renewable, low carbon materials – including hemp, a commercial crop that absorbs CO2 while growing. It is mixed with lime to produce the hempcrete used in the timber frame walls. In addition, Thermafleece™ insulation made from British sheep’s wool keeps the carbon footprint down, and renewable materials in the paint and furnishings provide a comfortable environment. Careful attention to detail minimises cold bridging and maximises insulation. The timber and hempcrete structure, and FSC certified timber windows, delivers low U values and good airtightness. The house is also affordable with a build cost of £75,000. The concept of this three bedroom detached home can be extended to town, semi-detached and terraced houses. Its flexible design can meet changing lifetime needs, and can be adapted to particular contexts with options such as bays, balconies and different facing materials.
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The Stewart Milne Group’s Sigma Home – the design can use a range of external renders and timber features, and can be clad in many different finishes to give a unique, personalised character to each development. The house also shows how the ground floor can be sub-divided either into a living and working unit, accommodation for a lodger or dependent relative, or into a studio apartment. This provides a range of buying options for different family mixes, and means that the arrangements can be altered over time if the owner’s needs change. Low carbon – the design aims to achieve a 100 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions from space and water heating and lighting needs. This results from high levels of thermal performance and airtightness, good solar design, and the integration of solar thermal, photovoltaic and micro-wind technologies for generating renewable energy. Passive ventilation – the home’s open stairwell provides integral passive ventilation, with a solar chimney, which allows moist, warm air to rise and escape from the top and draw in fresh air at the bottom.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
The main menu is re-structured as:
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RICS Global – RICS UK.
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About us.
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Knowledge.
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Newsroom.
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Services.
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Events.
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My RICS.
Information is provided on:
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Join RICS.
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Routes to membership.
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Become a surveyor.
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Benefits of membership.
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How to join.
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Members.
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Subscriptions.
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Practice standards.
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Red book.
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Professional groups.
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RICS matrics.
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My details.
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Students.
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What is surveying.
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Benefits of surveying.
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Student membership.
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Public.
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UK regions.
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Governance.
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Useful guides.
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Using a surveyor.
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Economic commentary.
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Other menus include:
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About RICS.
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Research.
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Sustainability.
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Market surveys.
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EU affairs.
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Policy and influencing.
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Governance.
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RICS matrics.
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Professional groups.
The Recent Research Section gives information on:
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2009 Valuation and Sale Price Report. The 2009 report of the annual comparison of valuations against sale prices of commercial property in France Germany, the Netherlands and UK, carried out by Investment Property Databank.
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A regional house price model of excess demand for housing. This report combines RICS housing market survey data with other housing indices to explore the creation of a time-on-market adjusted house price index.
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An examination of the housing needs and supply for an ageing society. This report, by the Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York, examines the implications for housing supply and user needs of an ageing society.
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Can building codes deliver energy efficiency? Defining a best practice approach.
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Discovering property policy: an examination of Scottish Executive policy and the property sector. This report, by a team led by David Adams at the University of Glasgow and funded by the RICS Education Trust, assessed how the Scottish Executive considers property market issues in its legislation.
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Doing Well by Doing Good? Buildings with a high Energy Star rating are attracting rental premiums of three percent per square foot compared with non-green buildings of the same size, location and function.
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Integrating automated valuation models (AVMs) with valuation services to meet the needs of UK borrowers, lenders and valuers. This report, by Mary Lou Downie and Gill Robson of Northumbria University, with funding from the RICS Education Trust, explores attitudes towards the use of automated valuation models.
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Internal housing space standards in England and Italy: comparing the “conditions” of regulation. This research, led by Nick Gallent of UCL, and with funding from the RICS Education Trust, looks at the causes and consequences of differences in internal housing space standards in England and Italy.
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Is sustainability reflected in commercial property prices: an analysis of the evidence base. This report, by Kingston University with funding from the RICS Foundation, analyses the publicly available evidence base for sustainability being reflected in commercial property prices.
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ISLAND – Inspiring Sri Lankan Renewal and Development. RICS Research Report from June 2009 on Disaster Management techniques. Paper by Richard Haigh, Dilanthi Amaratunga, David Baldry, Chaminda Pathirage and Niraj Thurairajah of the University of Salford.
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Leasehold reform: Graphs of relativity. “Relativity” describes the value of an existing lease relative to the value of the same property if it were freehold. The Lands Tribunal asked RICS to create a standard graph of relativity.
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Life cycle costing of sustainable design. This report, by John Kelly and Kirsty Hunter with RICS Education Trust funding, provides a methodology for assessing the life cycle cost of buildings that incorporate elements of sustainable design.
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Making GIS work in developing countries. RICS Research Report from July 2009 by Neil Stuart, Duncan Moss, Robert Hodgart and Paul Radikonyana of the Institute of Geography at the University of Edinburgh.
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Moving towards a low carbon city: a case study of Melbourne, Australia. Using Melbourne as a case study city, this report analyses the impact of different scenarios for carbon emissions reductions, and recommends the adoption of a phased approach to emissions reductions.
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Permanent and transitory components in local housing market dynamics. This research, by Michael White of Heriot-Watt University, examines the factors that drive house price changes in different city sub-markets, using Aberdeen as a case study. Published in July 2009.
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Planning and the Gender Equality Duty. This report explores the response of local authorities to the requirement that they take gender issues into account in their decisions, with particular reference to planning and urban regeneration.
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RICS Global Carbon Capacity Index – ZC2 – 2008 Results. The results of the 2008 RICS Global Carbon Capacity Index, aimed at tracking progress of countries towards a zero carbon built environment. In 2008, France emerged as the country making most progress.
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The energy efficiency impacts of upgrading informal settlements in developing countries: an exploration of urban areas in India. This report, by the University of Ulster, assesses the energy efficiency implications of upgrading informal settlements, using the city of Sonipat in India as a case study. Published January 2010.
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The impact of peripheral urban land acquisition on indigenous communities’ livelihood and environment around Uluguru mountains, Tanzania.
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Towards a 3D urban land register information system. With funding from the RICS Education Trust, Roland Billen of the University of Liege explored what is needed to encourage the implementation of 3D land information systems.
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Towards a low carbon built environment: a road map for action.
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Transaction costs, planning and housing supply. This research by Phil Allmendinger of the University of Cambridge, with funding from the RICS Education Trust, exlpores the increasing costs that the planning system places on new housing development.
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UK Government national carbon reduction targets and regional housing market dynamics: compatible or contradictory? This report, commissioned by RICS East and carried out by the University of Cambridge, explores the relationship between national carbon emissions targets and the nature of regional housing markets.
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Urban revitalization in traditional neighbourhoods in Chinese cities. With funding from the RICS Education Trust, Elisabete Silva of the University of Cambridge explored the social and economic impacts of different approaches to neighbourhood revitalization in China.
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What is the effect of eco-labelling on office occupancy rates in the USA? This research, by Pat McAllister and Franz Fuerst of the University of Reading, UK, explores the impact of eco-labelling on void rates in commercial office buildings in the USA.
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What is the impact of flooding on property values? This research indicates that flooding has only a temporary impact on property values, and after three years prices had returned to their normal market level.
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Why do companies rent green? This report, by Piet Eichholtz, Nils Kok and John Quigley, examines the tenant-base of “green” office buildings in the USA, to see which organisations seem most likely to occupy “green” space.
Safeguard Europe Ltd
Safeguard Europe Ltd is a UK-based company specialising in providing damp-proofing and waterproofing solutions for the construction industry. Safeguard was established in 1983 to produce products for the refurbishment of existing buildings. The company also offers a range of seminars to reflect the changes in BS 8102, The Code of Practice for protection of below ground structures against water from the ground.
Renson
This web site describes ventilation and sun protection systems. It includes “an overview of ventilation systems”: efficient operation is only guaranteed when the three following components are used in conjunction with each other:
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Supply: of fresh outside air into the dry rooms (living room, bedroom, etc).
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Transit: of air in the dwelling via hallway, staircase, doors, etc.
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Extraction: of used air from humid rooms (kitchen, bathroom, toilet, laundry, etc.).
This concept is a combination of background ventilation, night cooling and solar shading.
The Lead Contractors Association (LCA)
The Lead Contractors Association was formed in 1984 to prioritise quality standards in leadwork. LCA now comprises over 100 specialist contractors committed to providing quality craftsmanship for their clients, supported by 15 associate members supplying materials and ancillary services. Members may be sole traders, partnerships or an incorporated body and utilise an employed workforce or teams of subcontractors. Regardless of structure, members are required to take full responsibility for the purchase and application of the lead sheet under their control. All members are required to work to the current Code of Practice (BS6915) and the recommendations of the Lead Sheet Association. According to LCA the main advantages of using a member of the LCA are:
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They guarantee their leadwork for 25 years. The £250,000 guarantee is Insurance backed and underwritten, so even if the contractor ceases to trade, the guarantee holds good.
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They work to published standards. BS6915 (the current code of practice for Design and Construction of Fully Supported Lead Sheet Roof and Wall Coverings). Rolled Lead Sheet – The Complete Manual (the definitive guide to leadwork design and installation, published by the Lead Sheet Association).
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Their lead work is regularly inspected as part of an organised programme. Vetting is a “hands-on” inspection at rooftop level and conducted by a member of the LCA Council. A failed vet means membership can be withdrawn if not put right at the LCA contractor’s own expense within a set deadline.
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Their work is graded and the grades are published in the Annual Directory: (S) Satisfactory (G) Good (E) Excellent.
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They support training for the workforce and are working with the Lead Sheet Association to provide courses from the LSA Training Centre in Kent.
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They can assist in the design and detailing of a leadwork installation and many offer a full design warranty.
Dart Valley Systems Ltd (DVS)
DVS provide a range of products and services to save water and has been seen as a market leader in developing electronically controlled products that enable significant reductions in water consumption and wastage. The company is now working alongside the team established by the Government’s Watermark Project initiative which has been set up to provide support to Government authorities to reduce the public sector water bill by 60 million pounds.
The web site gives information on the following categories:
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Automatic taps.
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WC flushing.
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Urinal controls.
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Push taps.
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Showers and baths.
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Washroom sanitaryware.
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Washroom hygiene.
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Safe en-suites.
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Healthcare.
Structurally insulated panels
UKSIPS – the UK Structural Insulated Panel Association – is the voice of the Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) industry in the UK. The Association is committed to stringent standards of quality and service and sets a professional benchmark for the SIP industry. Members include the principal SIP manufacturers, industry suppliers and professionals involved with design and construction using SIP technology.
The web site includes the following information:
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About UK SIPS.
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What are SIPS?
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Benefits.
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Members.
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Case studies.
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Technical bulletins.
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The Technical Committee of the Association is currently working towards publishing a range of Technical Bulletins that will ultimately make up a SIPS Code of Practice.
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Latest news.
Hafod Eryri
www.snowdonrailway.co.uk/hafod_eryri.php
Hafod Eryri, the new building on the summit of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) opened Summer 2009. The new visitor centre is a uniquely designed structure built of granite with large views from the “window on the world” wall of glass which makes up the front of the centre. It acts as a terminus for the Snowdon Mountain Railway providing refreshment facilities, toilets and interpretation of the mountain, its history and ways to enjoy it. Much of the interpretation is built into the structure. The original building was designed by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis and built in 1935. Hafod Eryri has to be able to withstand extreme weather conditions on the summit:
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Winds over 150mph.
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Over 5 metres of rain.
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Temperatures of −20°C (excluding wind chill).
The new building cost £8.3million – it was funded by The Snowdonia National Park Authority, The Welsh Assembly Government, Objective 1 European Funding, Visit Wales, The Snowdon Mountain Railway Company and a public appeal.
Stephen Todd