Fiona unveiled the pioneering report, commissioned by CIBSE and researched by Arup, which diverges from typical CIBSE publications, focusing not on system sizing, maintenance, or controls, but on a holistic and future-oriented perspective on building performance.
How do we Unlock and Realise these Future Forms of Value?
The solutions designers and engineers develop determine how a building will operate, often for many decades. And even with the best design intentions, buildings do not always perform as we need them to. Building performance is complex to ensure all outcomes of owner and developer expectations, tenant and purchaser requirements, cost and technological constraints, and occupants’ habits of use are met.
Therefore a broader understanding of the value buildings bring is required to ensure these outcomes are fully met, leading to new criteria for performance by bringing together developers, investors, regulators, and users to enact the necessary changes.
The comprehensive report, “Building Performance Reimagined,” introduces and delves into radical concepts regarding the expectations we should have for our building investments. Drawing upon our proficiency in design, building services engineering (MEP), economics, architecture, social trend forecasting, and various related disciplines, Arup have engaged in interviews and workshops with industry experts to outline the necessary transformations and pathways to realisation.
Four Performance Metrics for Future Challenges
The core aim of the Building Performance Reimagined project is therefore to push the boundaries of traditional engineering practices and prepare CIBSE members for future challenges. It delves into the dynamic and evolving landscape of building performance, extending beyond the familiar realms of energy efficiency and carbon reduction. It prompts engineers to consider future forms of ‘value’ in the built environment, and the major cultural and systemic shifts required to unlock that value.
The report proposes four key performance metrics to guide the shift towards health and resilience:
- Variety: How might building services optimise space, promote adaptability and diversity of use and user?
- Readiness: How might building services reduce risk and harm, and build anticipatory capacity to respond to unseen threats?
- Connectedness: How might building services better respond to the building context and its contents, and integrate with local and wider systems
- Emergence: How might building services contribute more than they consume, and learn as structures age?
Expanding the Role of the Building Services Engineer
This pioneering report therefore expands the role of the building services engineers in evolving towards creating more sustainable and inclusive environments. Their duties expand to not only focus on functionality and energy efficiency but also on improving the quality of life for all living beings in and around a location. This includes fostering biodiversity and promoting social equality through their design choices and collaborations.
Additionally, engineers are now playing a crucial role in shaping the larger urban landscape. They are responsible for determining how buildings integrate with local and city-wide infrastructures, communities, and resources, impacting the overall urban fabric and sustainability initiatives. Engineering and design companies, like Lawler Sustainability and their sister company Lawler Consulting are embracing flexible, digital solutions for integrating building services into modern designs.
This shift therefore paves the way for cost-effective retrofitting, enhancements, and alterations to benefit future users.
Want to Know How We Can Help Shape Your Next Building Project for Future Challenges ?
Click the button below to arrange a call with our very own Laura McMahon, Director of Sustainability and CIBSE Vice-Chair.
Together with our sister company, Lawler Consulting, our mission at Lawler Sustainability is to make our buildings more energy-efficient, cost-effective to operate and create a sustainable future.
