| Some buildings are lauded for setting new standards in energy efficiency, but keeping them that way takes a lot of work. Will Jones reports  Constructing environmentally friendly buildings and then keeping them green is no walk in the park, but building owners and tenants will soon be legally obliged to do so. When the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive comes into force next April, every new building and every rented or sold building that has a floor area exceeding 500 m2 will require a certificate proving that it meets energy requirements. By October 2008 all buildings will require one.
As with all things European, each country has a different way of complying with this. In Britain the government traditionally sets rigid parameters, whereas the Dutch take a more all-encompassing approach. “Historically, the Netherlands has dealt with sustainability as a broader planning issue,” explains Dominic Papa of architect S333. “All buildings tend to be part of a larger plan and heating and energy requirements are considered at masterplan stage, rather than with the design of each individual building.” This strategy spreads energy requirements and redirects what would be waste power to houses, hospitals and commercial buildings in the area. “Ironically, it is less ‘windmills on the roof’ than in the UK,” smiles Papa. “We have a more more intuitive approach that serves just as well, if not better.” The Dutch have pioneered environmental building technologies such as aquifer thermal energy storage, prompted by research by the Dutch government when it was considering installing major nuclear power generation. A study of ground water movement discovered that in porous rock aquifers (generally sandstone or chalk) the groundwater only moves 10–15 m a year. With such low flows, the aquifer could store thermal energy; cold water would be extracted in the summer to provide office cooling, and in the autumn and winter the flow could be reversed and the higher-temperature water used to provide heating. Germany also has a long tradition in energy regulations, mainly concerning the insulation of buildings. Energy consumption in the new Federal Environment Agency in Dessau, designed by Sauerbruch Hutton, is currently being scrutinised with Teutonic vim. “We monitor everything – lighting, heating, lifts, ventilation, and other effects such as water consumption and use of office supplies,” says Martin Ittershagen of the Federal Environment Agency.  “The aim is of course to identify any shortfalls in the operation of the building. We monitor all this in a pretty detailed way; for example, separating the building into units, looking at different floor levels and whether the offices face the outside of the building or the courtyard. We have been able to further reduce our electricity consumption, as monitoring helped us to identify savings potentials,” elaborates Ittershagen.
The agency also recently began work on a more comprehensive set of indicators that it hopes will give more information on the building’s environmental footprint. Although there are no strict guidelines on how to monitor buildings for their environmental performance, the directives will impact all properties. Some projects have already embraced this approach, two of the most notable being in the UK. Every aspect of the design and construction of Heelis, the headquarters of heritage preservation body the National Trust in Swindon, southwest England, was approached from an environmental angle. Timber came from the Trust’s sustainable forests, materials and labour were sourced locally, energy-saving measures were used, and the entire design was “value engineered”. An exemplar of environmental design, the 2005 building, dreamt up by architect Fielden Clegg Bradley and environmentally engineered by Max Fordham Partnership, maximised natural light, reduced energy and boosted thermal performance. This meant 1,554 photovoltaic panels and rows of lights on the roof and concrete roof and first-floor slabs to draw out heat in the day, helping to control heating and cut out the need for air conditioning. Heelis’ performance has been monitored since its opening, and engineers are still fine-tuning its running. Guy Nevill, a partner at Max Fordham, reflects: “These buildings take time to balance and reach optimum performance. Monitoring is essential to ensure they operate at their most efficient.” One of the UK’s first truly green office buildings was the Wessex Water Operations Centre, designed by architect Bennetts Associates and engineer Buro Happold. It is largely naturally ventilated, rain water is recycled, water is solar heated, and heat pump technology has been employed. Even the building’s position within its site was assessed for maximum efficiency. “A year after completion we started collecting data on gas, electricity and water consumption each month,” says Simon Wright of Buro Happold. Staff were educated as to how the building works, and meters were installed in every part of the building. Seven years after the Operations Centre was built, its owners and occupiers will be jointly responsible for reducing energy use and minimising wastage. |