We think holistically and are motivated to make new advances in sustainable design. To achieve our goals we use a wide range of tools and work in collaboration with an excellent network of experts.
Sustainability requires us to think holistically: the location and function of a building, its flexibility and life span, its orientation, form and structure, its heating and ventilation systems and the materials used, together impact upon the amount of energy required to build and maintain it, and travel to and from it. Only by finding new solutions to these problems can we create sustainable forms of building for the future. This is one of our greatest challenges going forward and is motivating us as designers. To help us make new advances in sustainable design we have our own Research and Development Group. In our projects we develop pioneer solutions using renewable energy sources, which offer dramatic reductions in pollution.
Our ambition today is to establish a sustainability profile for every project. This development tool allows each team to determine targets and methods at the beginning of each project. In doing so, our aim is to provide a system to monitor the sustainability agenda of individual projects and to promote a strong sustainable design ethic.
Our sustainability knowledge pool promotes the use of sustainable technologies and methods throughout the practice. The knowledge pool is part of the research and development group, whose role is to ensure that the network remains at the forefront of architectural innovation. Each design network member is encouraged to record its sustainable design methods, regardless of the project’s size, location or type. This information is collated in a database that can be accessed throughout the practice to inform subsequent projects.
While new technologies have transformed the way we work, traditional model making still plays a crucial role. We have an information centre with a comprehensive materials research that helps us to select products and initiates the use of new materials, ensuring that we have the knowledge base to create inspirational as well as sustainable buildings.
