Category Archives: News

UK’s first carbon neutral city

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It was only a matter of time before the extension of eco homes, eco villages and eco towns was applied to eco cities in the UK, after all the rest of the world has eco-cities.

I should mention the great work being done at a community level over in Ashton Hayes – aiming to be England’s first carbon neutral village (which I believe is a great case study on Community based FM in practice)

But who would have thought Sterling would be the first city in the UK to be brave enough to go carbon neutral?

One to watch … Carbon Neutral Stirling

This raises a number of questions, mainly though, in my mind, what requirements will there be on sustainability and carbon management of construction and of facilities management of buildings in the citiy?

2008 KPI’s

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Constructing Excellence issue 2008 KPI data

The latest UK Construction Industry KPI data is now available interactive and on-line at KPIzone (http://www.kpizone.com). Supported by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), KPIzone contains over 700 graphs and charts, together with industry standard KPI definitions and methods of measurement.

In the age of open source, and the fact that these KPI’s are a key measure behind the UK Sustainable Construction Strategy is it correct to charge for access to this data and KPI material? Surely if Constructing Excellence and the Government are serious about change in the sector then these should be open to all to encourage greater use. Of course the CE business model would be then around benchmarking and sharing, ie a support service rather than selling a product.

sustainable construction commitments launched

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The UK Government today launches its Sustainable Construction Strategy, with a whole raft of targets, measures and reporting mechanisms. It seems like it has been a long time coming, the consultation period being most of last year. Construction minister Shriti Vadera comments “Our aim is to become a world leader in sustainable construction” (Building). Time will tell.

Looking back to the response from to consultation we submitted from the Collaboartive Working Champions, it seems the emphasis on integrated and collaboartive working, as a means to sustainability is recognised .

To achieve improved whole life value through the promotion of best practice construction procurement and supply side integration, by encouraging the adoption of the Construction Commitments in both the public and private sectors and throughout the supply chain.

Parts of the industry – clients, consultants, main contractors, specialist contractors*, and product manufacturers and suppliers – to be engaged in supply chains on 30% of construction projects and for 40% of their work to be conducted through integrated project teams. (By 2012)

It is also included with the construction commitments:

A successful procurement policy requires ethical sourcing, enables best value to be achieved and encourages the early involvement of the supply chain. An integrated project team works together to achieve the best possible solution in terms of design, buildability, environmental performance and sustainable development.

And note the reference to ethical sourcing, this is also picked up in the report as responsible sourcing, moving towards a cradel to cradle approach one would hope, maybe along the lines of BS6000, which will wake up a few people and organisations.

And as fellow CWC and blogger Paul over at ExtranetEvolution comments it is good to see ICT within the Innovation section.

I am not sure about the inclusion of the eco-town approach as a target though – has the strategy been hijacked, Trojan horse style, to embed political ambitions?

however, and here is my main observation, admittedly after only a single read but….

I am disappointed to see a lack of facilities management in the document. The strategy is as much about the use, the consumption of buildings as it is about their design and provision. (something about focusing on the 1, out of the 1:5:200 concept). I am now aware that the facilities management sector in the UK is just too weak as a voice to get involved and influence the built environment sustainability agenda. Something that must change.

Yes we may have here a viable construction strategy , but without the link to the end users and management of the facilities (note I avoid the word buildings) we may not have a strategy for a sustainable built environment.

Oh, and why a sustainable document that has a solid black cover. The additional quantity of ink that will be used every time this document is printed or copied will be huge. The answer of course is not to print – but we are not all in the mindset of reading from the screen yet.

Score …

wikitecture wins international open source competition

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A web2 collaborative project I have been following through second life and wiki architecture has been the open source architecture design competition via Open Architecture Network.

Delighted then to receive the following good news alert from Ryan at Wikitecture:


Wikitecture Wins International Competition: 3D-Wiki Used to Compose an Open-Source Entry

Chicago, IL, June 09, 2008 – Out of 566 registered entries from 57 countries, Studio Wikitecture won the overall ‘Founder’s Award’ for their open-source entry to a competition hosted by Architecture for Humanity on the Open Architecture Network. In keeping with the collaborative spirit of the Open Architecture Network, their entry for a tele-medicine facility in Western Nepal was chosen “for embracing a truly collaborative way of working using online crowdsourcing and Second Life as a way to create a highly participatory design approach.” Source


Having conducted a number of experiments over the last year into the feasibility of applying an open-source paradigm to the practice of architecture, the Studio Wikitecture group developed a 3D-Wiki plug-in on the virtual reality platform, Second Life, that they used to help build consensus among the numerous contributors in this open-source project.

The ‘Wiki-Tree’ as it was called, acted as a version tracking system that worked very much like a conventional Wiki, but instead of tracking text documents in a linear history as you see in Wikipedia, the ‘Wiki-Tree’ tracked versions of 3-dimensional models and saved them within a continually evolving 3-dimensional digital tree ‘canopy’. Similar to Wikipedia, this 3D-Wiki allowed this loose, self-organized group of contributors to share ideas, edit the contributions of others, and vote on which design iterations should be considered for further refinement.

Over and above the actual building design, Studio Wikitecture’s entry proposed that the wiki-tree and virtual model live on pass the competition and be used to help incorporate feedback from the Nepalese community and end-users into evolving design.

In addition, they proposed that the virtual platform would allow individuals from around the world to experience the local site and conditions as the project evolves over time, further expanding the outreach, awareness and support for this project to a global audience.

The winning entry was the result of Studio Wikitecture’s 3rd Wikitecture experiment to explore the procedures and protocols necessary to practice a more open and distributed approach to architectural design. Of those, the group explored prediction market voting procedures to assure consensus or ‘Crowd Wisdom’, as well as developed a contribution assessment system to divvy up fair ownership among all the contributors.

The Final Competition Boards: http://flickr.com/photos/studiowikitecture/sets/72157604038184909/show/

A time-lapse video of the evolving design:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=amCi90zH3VI

A video illustrating how the ‘Wiki-Tree’ works:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z3eWKIJxzyc

A journal article outlining, in detail, the three Wikitecture experiments:

http://crescendodesign.com/103_chase.pdf

The accompanying website:

http://studiowikitecture.com/ (click on ‘go’ twice to enter anonymously)

The Blog:
http://studiowikitecture.wordpress.com/

Developers accused of pursuing gadgetry instead of saving planet

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The Guardian reported on Saturday on the CABE criticism of architects and developers who are, according to CABE ignoring the threat of climate change and failing to address concerns over sustainability, (Based on design reviews of more than 700 large construction projects over the last two years that concluded that fewer than 10 made sustainability a priority)

Thats less than 2% !! Why has it taken two years and 700 project reviews to highlight such failings?

“painfully slow, piecemeal approach to sustainability” and a focus on
superficial “green gadgets” is threatening efforts to build green towns
and cities.”There are some architects and developers who really get climate
change, but most don’t or choose not to. As a result we get a lot of
greenwash, such as green gadgets and microtechnology stuck on to
buildings, rather than a proper approach to sustainable design.”

I am intrigued as to the review criteria used by CABE and will report more here when I can track down and read the report.

SDRN news

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Noticed the following of interest items on the Sustainable Development research network …

EAC Publication – ‘Personal Carbon Trading’
The Environmental Audit Committee has recently published a report which considers the concept of allocating individuals an allowance of marketable carbon credits, and urges the Government to lead and co-ordinate further research into personal carbon trading. This is based on the recognition that reductions in carbon emissions from business and industry will be meaningless unless accompanied by significant and equal reductions from households and individuals. Whilst acknowledging the implementation costs and the issue of dealing with vulnerable groups and a sceptical public, the Committee finds that personal carbon trading has the potential to be more engaging, more effective and more progressive than green taxation, provided it is carefully developed and sensitively implemented. The report stresses that any personal carbon trading scheme would need to be accompanied by a range of policies, educating and assisting individuals in making the necessary changes to their lifestyle. More…

Conference – ‘Sustainable Non-Dwellings: Regulations and Ratings’
10th July 2008: Jurys Gt Russell St Hotel, London
This one-day conference will bring together key representatives from government and industry for a day of discussion and solution-finding in response to the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates, the toughening-up of the BREEAM ratings system and the government announcement that all non-dwellings must be zero-carbon by 2019. Sessions will consider how current regulations fit together, how local authorities are using green building regulations as criteria for planning, the implications of the BREEAM update 2008, lessons to be learned and transferred from the Code for Sustainable Homes, and the likely real additional costs of implementing green building regulations. More…

LGA/EA/UKCIP Guide – ‘Be aware, be prepared, take action’
The Local Government Association have collaborated with the Environment Agency and the UK Climate Impacts Programme to produce a short guide to encourage local authorities to asses the risks posed by climate change and to ensure that adaptation strategies are planned into local government working. The report outlines the role of local authorities, the government drivers for adaptation, positive action to mainstream adaptation, five key stages to preparing an adaptation action plan, and sources of further information, together with a series of case studies of the impacts of climate change and the need for adaptation measures at the local level. More…

HT/DfT Conference – ‘Living Communities’
17th June 2008: Overseas House, London
The Institution of Highways and Transportation’s (IHT) Urban Design Panel and the Department for Transport (DfT) will be hosting this one-day conference to bring together representatives from senior government, industry and academia to discuss the work being undertaken on the urban street agenda. The day will offer attendees an insight into the outcomes of two key DfT projects – Mixed Priority Routes and Streetscape – and explore a number of topics, including: Strategic Objectives, Streetscape Local Transport Notes, Street Design and Place Making, and a number of case studies from the Mixed Priority Routes project. Contact  website

Conference – BWEA30
21st – 22nd October 2008: ExCel, London
BWEA’s 30th Anniversary Conference and Exhibition will bring together over 100 speakers, from Government ministers to industry leaders, to highlight the urgent need to invest in wind, wave and tidal power and the opportunities this will bring to the UK, and to address the remaining barriers facing the continued growth of the industry. Visit the website to sign up or for more information

FMB Condemn eco towns

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Press Release from FMB, thanks Jane:

Lord Rogers is absolutely right to describe eco town plans as ‘one of the biggest mistakes’ the Government could make, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Brian Berry, Director of External Affairs at the FMB says:

“Eco town plans are nothing short of a Government ‘greenwash’ to hide its outdated housing policy. The reality is that we already know how to create sustainable settlements as demonstrated by the BedZed affordable eco-homes development in south London which has been a shining example to the UK house building industry since 2002. The simple fact is that building brand new ‘eco-towns’ outside existing towns and cities is a really bad idea when there are 675,000 homes in England alone sitting empty and ripe for refitting with green technologies.:

Berry continued:

“Given that demand for housing is right across the UK it makes more sense for every village, town and city to have new housing rather than creating brand new settlements. How green are these new towns are going to be in transport terms? The sad truth is that any new eco-town can only be another car-based satellite suburb. Even with car clubs, cycle lanes and a top-notch bus service, these places are going to be packed out with new roads and, as we all know, new roads lead to more car use – and more carbon emissions.”

egan: four out of ten for effort

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As reported on Building today, Sir John Egan Author of Rethinking Construction speaking at a reception at the House of Commons to mark 10 years since the publication of his report said he would rate the construction industry’s performance since as “four out of 10”.

Egan particularly criticised housebuilders for failing to follow the guidelines laid down in his report. “[Housebuilders] have made no cost improvements at all. Absolutely nothing. Also, their productivity processes actually generated much less than half of the demonstration projects.”

“I just don’t think they were trying. In this ‘nice decade’, as the Bank of England called it, they really didn’t try. And now they’ve got their comeuppance. It’s very, very sad.”

Egan said that housebuilders could have made progress with simple productivity and design improvements and more off-site building. “the houses could be costing a great deal less than they do, and there would still be a market.”

Egan went on to say that the government was partly to blame for “not trying” to be a good client in its construction projects.

Summing up the lasting impact of the report, Egan said: “We have to say we’ve got pretty patchy results. And certainly nowhere near the improvement we could have achieved, or that I expected to achieve.”

I would concur with Egan on this one, with some very successful exceptions, the principles and targets set by the Rethinking Construction report have not been understood or adopted let alone met. Many in the industry are not even aware of these targets. It continues to amaze me the lack of knowledge, in some cases of the existence, of the Egan report, across the industry and in education.

With a score of four, questions must surely be asked of the effectiveness of the organisations established, with government funds, to deliver Rethinking Construction.

Earthwire UK

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Just added a new RSS feed from Earthwire UK to my collection of feeds into igoogle.

from the Earthwire UK web pages:

Environmental News from the United Kingdom on EarthWire

EarthWire/UK gives you a free daily overview of environmental news from the United Kingdom.

Every working day, a team reviews national, regional and local media sources for environment and sustainable development-related news stories. Relevant stories are included in EarthWire/UK where they can be viewed by country, topic, or time period. A search engine allows users to search for issues and keywords in the archive. Press releases and news from research organisations, the public sector, and environmental organisations are included as well.

EarthWire is used by government officials as a briefing on the day’s environmental news, journalists following hot issues, students and researchers looking for current information on the state of the environment, and by anyone interested in current events and the environment.

EarthWire/UK covers media sources from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. It is the fifth in a series of regional news services, the first of which was EarthWire/Norway. There is also a special edition of EarthWire for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. EarthWire/WSSD, partly financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Environment, is a joint initiative by GRID-Arendal and the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. In 2002, we started EarthWire/Serbia, in the Serbian language, as well.

EarthWire by Email

With EarthWire’s email feed, you can get environmental news from UK, Norway, Serbia, and southern Africa emailed to you every day. The email service is free and allows you to choose whether you would like to get all news compiled for our EarthWire editions, or only news related to specified environmental topics or regions we cover. Registering for EarthWire by Email is simple, and we pledge to protect your privacy.

For more information, please contact Lars Haltbrekken at UNEP/GRID-Arendal.

LEED 2009 V3

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The new edition of LEED – version 3 for 2009 is open to public comment here – promising to reset the bar for green building leadership because the urgency of the LEED mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before.

More comments when I get chance to view the documents …..