Most Sustainable Construction.
This award category is for developments that have made an exceptional contribution to environmental sustainability, throughout the whole lifecycle of the project; from the early planning stages, throughout construction, to the completed build and consideration of future uses.
Submissions will be assessed on their contribution to the environmental sustainability agenda, incorporating innovative construction and design, and recognition of national sustainability standards.
Judges will take the following aspects into account:
a) Achievement of nationally recognised levels of sustainability (e.g. BREEAM / Home Quality Mark / National technical standards for housing)
b) Use of best practice construction management to minimise impacts on the environment (i.e. registered with the Considerate Constructors Scheme)
c) Use of technological advances in construction to minimise impacts on the environment
d) Use of lifecycle assessment tools within the design process
e) Consideration of climate change projections and scenarios within the design process Recognition that buildings/spaces exist for numerous and varied climatic conditions throughout their operational life
f) Considered climate change and adaptation within the open space strategy (e.g. use of drought tolerant species etc.)
g) Use of energy modelling within the design process
h) Reduced energy use/demand as far as practical through innovative design and materials (e.g. orientation of buildings to maximise solar gain / improved thermal performance etc.)
i) Achievement of Energy Performance Ratings (e.g. Energy Performance Certificates (all domestic and commercial buildings) / Display Energy Certificate (public buildings))
j) Evidence that the gap between the design intent and the ‘as-built’ performance has been closed. It should be demonstrated that in-use energy consumption will be close to (or better than) the design predictions and that protocols such as soft landings (or equivalent) have been used to help achieve this objective.
k) Use of building management systems for heating/cooling, ventilation and lighting
l) Use of on-site renewable energy systems (e.g. solar hot water, biomass, ground source heating and cooling, photovoltaic cells and wind power)
m) Use of innovative design to provide passive cooling (e.g. sustainable on-site/decentralised low carbon energy systems to reduce carbon emissions)
n) Reduction of water use during occupancy of the development (e.g. use of sub-meters and leak detection in non-residential buildings, installation of water saving devices, installation of rainwater harvesting and greywater systems)
o) Use of non-potable water for irrigation of landscape areas
p) Use of sustainable drainage systems (SUDS)
q) Installation of flood resilience measures
r) Use of sustainable materials, including locally sourced materials where appropriate
s) Use of materials/products that reduce the atmospheric impact of development (e.g. zero ozone depleting material, materials which avoid substances that have a global warming potential (GWP) and which avoid the use of VOC’s and other toxic compounds)
t) Consideration of, and built in flexibility for, future uses
u) Design measures to reduce the impact of noise (e.g. arrangement of sensitive areas away from areas of noise)
v) Design measures to enable effective waste management during occupancy of the development (e.g. dedicated areas for recycling and waste storage etc.)
w) Measures to minimise disruption and disturbance to on-site species
x) Access throughout the development for non-motorised modes of transport
y) Consideration of access to local services, public transport and other sustainable modes of transport
z) Reduced energy use/ demand as far as practical through innovative design and materials (eg improvement of thermal performance etc, including Passivhaus or other fabric first approaches).