Sustainable Building Life cycle
The Sustainable Building Life cycle (SBL) framework has been developed to enable performance targets to be set for buildings and to ensure that these are achieved through effective integration. It enables assessment frameworks, like the SBAT, or green building rating tools to be used to maximum effect by ensuring that required performance is addressed throughout a building’s life cycle, and not just for a once-off rating.
The framework is designed to ensure that at particular stages, targets are set and agreed by key stakeholders (during the briefing, site analysis, and target setting stages) and that these are then used to guide design decisions and the selection of procurement and construction options.
There are a number of key principles within the concept of a Sustainable Building Life cycle. These are:
- There is a shared understanding of sustainability and agreement on the setting of strategic sustainable development objectives for the project.
- Detailed, challenging and responsive performance targets are set and their achievement monitored.
- Multidisciplinary interactive processes are used to generate imaginative and innovative solutions capable of achieving the performance required.
- The strategic sustainable development objectives set at the onset inform all stages of the building life cycle and the specific body of knowledge on how these are achieved in the building is transferred from one stage to the next.
These principles are integrated into conventional building processes by introducing actions and supporting decision-making, at specific stages in a development. These can be described in terms of a sustainable building life cycle and occur at the following stages: Briefing, Analysis, Target Setting, Concept Design, Detailed Design and Construction, Handover, Operation, and Demolition/Reuse/Recycle. At each of these stages, the SBL framework provides for:
- Targets that must be achieved
- Methodologies for confirming the achievement of targets
- Persons, such as members of the design team, responsible for achieving targets, including signature(s) indicating confirmation of achievement
- Persons, such as members of the client or operator team, responsible for accepting achievement of targets, including signature(s) indicating acceptance of achievement.
Tailored SBL frameworks agreed with clients, the design team and other key stakeholders are an effective way of ensuring that sustainability is effectively integrated into buildings. Contact us for more detailed examples of how these frameworks and how they can be developed and tailored for projects.