zerochampion

Bonkers in Battersea

I've been a long time admirer of the glorious wreck of a building that is the Battersea Power Station. I also became fascinated by the ill-fated attempts to bring it back to some semblance of life, writing about it in Building back in 2003. Such tantalising prospects of renewable that that have been held out for the past two decades left me in two minds. The schemes would have ensured its future preservation but could threaten to soil its character - never was the latter more at risk than with the woefully misjudged plan offered late last week by Rafael Vinoly.

Sustainable education

Should sustainability become a central plank of education? It's a question that has sparked a lively debate in the pages of Building Design in the past couple of weeks. The magazine has been running plenty of coverage in the run up to next month's Oxford Conference, which has a bold vision to reset the agenda for architectural education. A central plank of this is around the environment and four leading figures hurled some rotten tomatoes at the education establishment by claiming their courses were out of touch with the needs of practitioners - ie. designing low carbon buildings, understanding how they actually work and how the construction industry operates.

Urban oases

I took full advantage of the onset of summer in the capital yesterday by taking part in the Open Garden Squares Weekend, one of the hundreds of festivals that now runs in the capital these days. This event works on the Open House weekend (the September event) principle of letting plebs wander around private spaces, although this turned out not to be quite the case in my experience. My wife and I decided to stay in our home patch, the East, beginning with the Cable Street Communities Gardens.

Pitt put in his place

I see Brad Pitt's self importance knows no bounds. Not content with boring us with self importance about his acting craft he now has taken it upon himself to explore his "passion" for architecture. Announcing his desire to design a "sustainable" resort in Dubai he adds: "It will underpin not only my values for environmentally-friendly architecture, but also embrace my career in entertainment." Thankfully some Building readers, including a D Vinnels, give it to him with both barrels. Please leave our industry alone Brad.

Hemp at the Olympics?

New images of the Olympic stadium were revealed by Building Design yesterday, which hinted at the use of hemp to cover the facility. It sparked some pretty grumpy responses from readers, berating the ODA for tokenism in putting forward a sustainable material as a feint to environmental credentials rather than a truly sustainable design in the first place. A G Pearce states - "How about this as an idea - to make it green, just don't clad it. All the hemp is doing it hiding untidy engineering and architectural engineering. If you designed the stadium well in the first place you could dispense with the cladding which will no doubt be shipped from mars using even more co2 thingy's." And a cheap, but still funny, gag from Theo Chalmers: "There goes our last hope for a drug free Olympics!"

The Green Way

Back in 2003 when I was full-time at Building - yes those bygone print days - I got to know Mark Way pretty well. A thoroughly nice bloke he was at architect and engineer RMJM at the time as head of research. He'd dreamt up a simple yet great concept called Soft Landings, which I wrote an article on it back in 2003. As a typical hack I moved on to the next subject and have given the idea little thought in the intervening years. Until a piece I spotted in BSRIA's website came to my attention which promises to give Way's vision renewed momentum.

Dunster and Egan - the unlikey pair

Two fundamental problems and challenges facing the industry in the past decade. Two figures with wildly different backgrounds and perspectives who come up with eerily similar conclusions. Step forward the unlikely pair - industrialist Sir John Egan and the architect Bill Dunster.

Egan wrote his report, Rethinking Construction, ten years ago and there's a good catch-up on what has, and hasn't, happened since in last Friday's Building.

Swiss Re's disappearing natural ventilation

Here's a cautionary and probably typical tale for post-occupation. Swiss Re was dubbed "London's first ecological building" when it was completed back in 2003, which would lead to up to 50% less energy use than a traditional office. This was partly down to its natural ventilation system. Martin Spring's revisit in today's Building offers the reality - Richard Stead, the current property services director says such savings are "a bit over-ambitious" as now that the building is multi-lease only one occupant (Swiss Re itself) is using natural ventilation. Why so - maximum comfort, tenants that want confidentiality who put up partitions and a lack of financial incentive in energy savings for firms that are paying top dollar rents for grade-a space.

Sustainability = Resource crisis

I'd heartily recommend a new offering from architect and blogger Jon Goodbun on the BD site, and not just because: I commissioned it; and he mentions me in the introduction. Definitions of sustainability can be at times be reductive but I think Jon's attempt at grappling with the problem is timely. Its importance for me is in identifying the broader crisis we face - a lot of people say 'this is more than just about carbon', but Jon explains this better than most.

Drinks with a fellow blogger

I had a rare opportunity to get out of the long succession of meetings that appears to be my current working life and chew the cud a bit with a fellow blogger last Wednesday night. The character in question was architect Jon Goodbun from WAG, and it proved an entertaining evening. Like most of us Jon appears to be juggling all sorts of balls in the air. In his case it ranges from the not inconsiderable challenge of getting projects off the ground in the first place to lecturing and thinking up and formulating ideas on the environment, places and people.

Green on Red

Guest post from France by Phil's boss Adrian Barrick
To Cannes for Mipim, the alcohol-fuelled annual gathering of Europe's property and construction clans. In many ways, Mipim is an odd setting for a serious debate about sustainability. Apart from a few laudable souls who take the train, or - bravissimo! - cycle, most of the pin-striped pilgrims jet in to nearby Nice airport, immediately jump in a cab, and spend the next three or four days emitting sufficient hot air to blow a hole in the ozone layer the size of France.

East London - refurbish and recycle

Two strong pieces of content in this week's Building Design, both focused on east London. The first concerns the paper's fantastically well supported campaign to save the Robin Hood Garden - editor Amanda Baillieu widens the argument from the architectural to the sustainable, vigorously claiming that the east London block of flats "is a sustainable community". Surely there must be red faces all round at quango English Partnerships, who is proposing the demolition of the estate.

Weekly Green Gauge

Green ... on a screen

Way in advance of the WWF's world's greenest city in Masdar, Abu Dhabi, the initiative for which was formally announced last month, Greenpeace has unveiled its town powered purely by renewable energy. A turbine on the football stadium feeds into a grid meeting power generated by woodchip biomass plant down the way and wave power. Unfortunately, this city is nothing but a SIMS-like animation up called Efficiencity (population 124,500). To be fair, nearly all the examples of CHP-powered hospitals and power generating sewage are based on examples in the real world.

Is Prince Charles igniting a Civil War?

When is an eco house not an eco house? When Prince Charles builds one. Or so the boffins at the BRE would have us believe.

The uneasy alliance between Britain’s green building establishment and the Prince threatens to be blown apart by the decision to allow the Princes Foundation to build its version of an eco house at the BRE’s demonstration site in Watford. Currently, it’s home to hi-tech eco houses, notably the Kingspan Lighthouse and Stewart Milne’s Sigma House. But the Prince’s eco house will be decidedly low tech. It will almost certainly eschew modern methods of construction, will probably eschew all plastics and, horror or horrors, will cock a snook at the eco builders No 1 bugbear, airtightness.

Is building below the city sustainable?

I was intrigued to read that plans are afoot in Amsterdam to build a city beneath the city. The scheme (more images here) is a long way off - construction will probably not start for a decade, according to the team. You wonder whether it's one of those Tomorrow's World-type future project rather than something that will actually transpire. I also wonder whether this is a local solution to particular space constraints in  Amsterdam or whether it's an idea that may take off globally. The team behind the scheme certainly appear to be in the latter camp. Bas Obladen, senior consultant at the engineer Strukton, says in the piece: “Creating a city beneath the city is not futuristic; it is a necessity in this day and age.”

Shock Brutalist Loves of a Sustainabile Icon

Visited the yin and yang of architecture yesterday, in the form of the World's largest (HOK), famous for the Barclay's tower in Canary Wharf and Grosvenor Place, winner of the British Council of Office's best of the best in 2001, and Sarah Wigglesworth Architects, known for introducing straw bale houses into the mainstream. The firm with 2000+ employees worldwide said it was a pioneer of sustainability and gave me a 500 page book on sustainable design (second edition) while Sarah's firm, with about eight people barely mentioned the topic but embody it. It is surely a peculiarity of the term which forms half of my job title that two such different organisations can lay claim to it.

Zero carbon schools masterclass

Having slated Ed Balls' plan for zero carbon schools by 2016 without really examining the detail too much, there is an opportunity for more sober reflection on the practicalities via a new webcast/productcast/whatever techno jargon you want to use on this issue. Speakers include Andrew Thorne from the Department of Children, Schools and Families and Ian Butterss from Faithful + Gould.

And the next Code is

So we end 2007 with yet another report and yet another major piece of future legislation for the industry to grapple with. This one's for non-domestic buildings and the report has been worked on for government by the UK Green Building Council. Although the code is some way off the UKGBC is talking 2020 as the date when zero carbon buildings can be achieved. It would be easy to dismiss as another document with heady ambitions leading to botched delivery but I see the report somewhat differently.

Sustainability and PFI

This is a bit of a hornet's nest, and one that has received scant attention. Is the PFI process inherently unsustainable as it is such a long, inflexible and complicated process? Or as LibDem member of the London Assembly Mike Tuffey says in an excellent report in today's Building Design: "These 30-year PFI deals are like supertankers.. We are calling on the Treasury to issue a changed protocol.. it needs to come forward with a way to bring flexibiliy in." The London Assembly issued a report, called Emission Creep, yesterday on the public sector and sustainability and it claims that PFi is preventing on-site renewable energy being installed on new hospital sites, such as the new Barts & Royal London scheme.

Planning co-ordination

I think I'm largely repeating points that have been made before this week. Anyhow. An interesting chat with a client at lunch today. He was positive about how both project teams and end users are becoming more and more enthusiastic and demanding about going green. There was a but, of course, and it's the profession that usually gets it - planners.

Flooding plan for Thames Gateway

I had a brief but very interesting chat with a technical manager from the Environment Agency last week. The body is working on a major piece of work mapping out potential flooding scenarios for the Thames Gateway so as to plan out what should be done in the near future. The irony of the EA having a stand bang in the middle of the Thames Gateway Forum appeared to be lost to most of the delegates.

Sponge debate

Rather arse about tit day yesterday. To a business exhibition, The Thames Gateway Forum, to see a politician (Gordon Brown, with no sign of Yates from the Yard in tow) in the afternoon and then to the House of Lords in the evening to take part in a debate with a bunch of business professionals on off-site renewables. The debate was held by the Sponge group in the splendidly ornate Moses Room and was to discuss the motion "This house believes offsite renewables have an essential role in delivering the Government's zero carbon building targets". Motion was, unsurprisingly, overwhelmingly passed.

Olympics - bronze medal?

If as I just wrote 2008 (and beyond, of course) should be the year of delivery what are we to make of the Olympic green targets set yesterday? Permanent buildings to perform 15% better that Part L 2006 standards? Homes to reach Code Level 4? A legacy target of reducing emissions from the Olympics Park by 50%? I'm sure the clamour to keep costs down on this job has probably hampered the environmental ambition. So our next challenge for the next year and beyond is achieve the dream, to prove that the sustainable solution is the lowest cost one. It's a target set by a evangelical consultant I met last week and if he nails it I'm thinking he's found a licence to print money.

Guardian picks top eco-buildings

The Guardian yesterday selected the UK's top sustainable buildings. It's perhaps not as controversial as the same newspapers list of top 1,000 albums to hear before you die (what no Band, Randy Newman or Shack?) but I would venture that the Pines Calyx, which we reviewed this week on Building, is worthy of inclusion in the 10 projects. Any other nominations for buildings that should be included? The more obscure the better.

Net curtains - the return

I was chatting to an architect last night about the challenges of tackling the existing stock. There are clearly issues with taking on listed buildings and trying to change the fabric to make it more efficient or add on renewables etc. He also mentioned windows and raised an interesting point. He had attended a seminar at which an expert in matters said that replacing ageing windows was unnecessary - you should straighten them, add sealant and then make sure you have decent curtains to restrict the draught. And apparently net curtains are the best (not sure why). Can twitching net curtains make a comeback on sustainable grounds?

TV reality

The 800 Million Pound Train Station, a documentary on the making of the new St Pancras train station now showing on BBC2, has been gripping. Not really because of the scale and the ambition of the project but due to the access the cameras have had to the team involved. It's extremely rare to have such a warts and all view of the construction process, and confirms a lot of industry cliches: the precious and pompous architect, the stressed out but hard-nosed contractor, the feckless subbie etc etc. But in spite of the tantrums, tears and bust-ups it presents an industry that is (largely) honest, hard-working, passionate and determined.

Prefab proponents

Two interesting speakers at an event I attended last Friday - John Prewer, who is known as the godfather of prefabrication, and Dr John Barrett from the Stockholm Environment Institute. Prewer not surprisingly offered the benefits of prefab but also added a couple of interesting points - the impression that heavyweight construction was the way to go was "false" (I think I may get him to elaborate on this for Building) and that building below the ground was unsustainable.

Carbon neutral software

Just watched a five minute video rather glibly called "Designing a carbon neutral building in five minutes". It's from US software house Green Building Studio who have developed a system whereby you input design information, press return, and hey presto you've got yourself a green building! Perhaps the US delivery brought out the cynic in me. I'm sure we'll see a lot of such tools coming out in the market in the future and they will have an important part to play in appraising and tweaking designs. Just don't promise the earth with a computer programme.

Widening the net

There's always the danger with discussions on sustainability that you end up discussing life, the universe and everything. It happened to me a few times this week. It can be slightly defeating as the detail and basics need to be right before you can start trying to change the world. But that shouldn't preclude a widening of discussions. Two disparate issues I considered with a couple of experts need much more thought - the law and IT.

Lifecyle Vs Recycle

I'm shamelessly reusing this catchy phrase from a debate I attended this morning organised by the sustainability conference Think (to declare an interest this is organised by my company). It came from Alan Smith, corporate communications director at contractor Kier, who was explaining the attitude of some clients to new projects, namely that they see them lasting for only seven years or so before they move onto the next model. Such is the pace of change amongst retail brands is that they feel the need for new to catch the attention of their clients. It led to the point being made that new buildings had to have inherent flexibility, or future proofed.

The Busines Case

What's stopping clients, especially private ones, from taking the plunge and pressing ahead with financing, building, buying or renting a sustainable building? Evidence, of course. This is the overwhelming feedback I'm getting from people grappling with sustainability come back to me with. Without hard facts, figures and benchmarks the market will only pick up in a patchy and piecemeal fashion. Hence I'm detecting some frustration amongst those trying to push ahead with bold and exciting projects about how they can truly persuade those that really matter, ie the guys or girls with the cash, to come on board.

Some architectural discussion

I was heartened to read an article in this month's RIBA Journal on a new sustainable project planned for Libya. It's a very interesting read on the cultural challenge and the background to Foster and Partners coming up with a plan for a new eco-tourism scheme in the country. Within the piece is an argument raised by architect Robert Adam on style and sustainability, which I think there needs to be more of.

Are celebrity architects saying much?

To the Design Museum for the Zaha Hadid exhibition. Inspired/inspiring? Not really. The first room consisted of lots of pretty pictures but precious little real buildings. And even seeing them left me feeling that while there is undoubted originality in her vision the results are rather opaque and soul-less affairs. Actual people appear to be lost within the sculptural forms and shapes. The exhibition did get better though.

Open House does its bit

Open House is a good opportunity to get out and see some real examples of completed projects and to meet the people actually walking the walk. I managed to see three in south London, part of an eco-trail over the weekend organised by sustainable networking group Sponge. I took in two houses and a mixed use scheme(part office, part flats) and they showed that so-called "eco-buildings" can sit comfortably in the context of their surrounding neighbourhoods.

The three P's - Passive, Practice and Post occupancy

The new study carried out by Buro Happold charting the performance of five City Academies indicates how far the industry, from designers through to facilities managers, has to go to make significant reductions in energy use in buildings. It highlights the need for three P's that are needed for operating buildings - Passive, Practice and Post-Occupancy.

Nobody knows anything

I’m quoting from the screenwriter William Goldman, who won two Oscars for his scripts for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men. The phrase “Nobody knows anything” was his dictum on just how little those in Hollywood knew about what films would perform and what wouldn’t. It appeared in his fantastic memoir on the absurdities of the film business, Adventure in the Screen Trade.

Epic exhibition

The Global Cities exhibition is well worth a look at. It's essentially a stat fest on world cities such as London, Tokyo Mumbai, Shanghai combined with some jaw-dropping visuals and intriguing films. The free exhibition at Tate Modern includes some thought-provoking (if at times somewhat overblown) ideas from architects Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid on how cities have and should develop. I particularly like a timely installation from artist Nils Norman called Bus Shelter 2015 (he's also produced a graphic novel on how Thurrock will cope with climate change in 2015 which is worth a look at). It envisages a public information poster indicating what citizens will need to do in case of flooding, referring to edicts from "eco-authorities" and giving advice on making your own diesel and combating West Nile virus. Norman has also adapted the roof of the shelter into a drought-resistant garden - surely an idea Ken Livingstone (or perhaps Boris) will be jumping on in the coming months.

The case for a retrospective architectural award

I was struck by a comment in Jonathan Glancey's blog today in response to the shortlist of the 2007 Stirling Prize. The Guardian's architectural critic writes:

"As for buildings, perhaps they should only really be offered prizes 20 years after their completion. While we can comment on the merit of the design, look and feel of a particular building when new, and celebrate the intentions of its designers, there is no guarantee that it might not prove to be a failure. Architecture is a slow business, and there should be no hurry to hand out prizes."

This sounds sensible.

Floods fiasco

Quite a challenge for new environment secretary Hilary Benn. Can he and his Government convince us they are in any way on top of the flooding issue? The Observer reports today that ministers were warned months ago about the threat of inclement weather over the summer by the Met Office. And Benn's assertion this morning on Radio 5 Live that this was "exceptional rainfall", while true, is beginning to sound rather hollow. Until there is proper responsibility for flooding - that is both the planning for, mitigating and responding to - the groundhog day of the last few weeks will continue.

Welcome to the world of flood certainty

I picked up a report produced by the College of Estate Management yesterday. It sums up succinctly the flooding crisis our country is currently in, and how much worse it's going to get in the future. It looks at flood insurance and concludes that the issue "has the potential to seriously undermine both the economic and social fabric of Britain, and as a consequence its political stability as well... it seem that flood risk in many parts of the country is changing to flood certainty and, in such a situation, will cease to be an insurable risk".

Earth Centre irony

Remember the Earth Centre? A museum up in Doncaster opened back in 1999 to show the public how to live sustainably? Unfortunately it was way ahead of its time and low visitor numbers led to its closure in 2004. Well now it's back in use, albeit temporarily. Why the irony? Well it's being used by the local local council as temporary accommodation for residents made homeless by the floods that have hit Yorkshire in the last week.

The King's Cross tour

I attended a couple of events at Architecture Week, one of which was a tour around the land north of King's Cross train station which is due for a massive facelift over the next decade under the control of developer Argent. Our guide? None other than Argent head honcho Roger Madelin, who turns out to be very far from the public stereotype of a property magnate - dry, softly spoken, witty and approachable. He had managed to charm the 15-odd walkers before the two-hour trot around the 67-acre site, called King's Cross Central, had finished.

Salford City Council leads the way in renewable extensions

Since 1999, Salford City Council have been exploring the development and use of prefabricated relocatable extensions for elderly and/or disabled members of their community. In all, 47 units have been made and used, with overwhelmingly positive feedback from their recipients. Now other city councils, as well as the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE), are looking into their work.

Insulation giant comes to the UK

URSA Insulation recently announced that it will be opening a plant in the UK. The insulation company that specialises in the manufacture of glass wool has scheduled the opening of the plant for the second half of 2009. It is estimated that the factory will employ about 130 people; short-listed locations for the plant are Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The Big Build brings visitors to Offsite 2007

One of the main attractions to Offsite 2007 at BRE was The Big Build. This was made up of ten new "concept-buildings" by a number of different architects and contractors, all of which strived to achieve the highest levels in the new Code for Sustainable Homes. Most were private homes; one was a mini-school, another was a semi-detached housing development in which one "half" was fully furnished while the other half had transparent panelling, so allowing visitors to see through the walls and floors.

BRE pioneers sustainability at its three day Offsite conference

The BRE (Building Research Establishment) and EEDA (East of England Development Agency) co-hosted a compelling three-day conference at the BRE's base in Garston, north of Watford. The conference looked at how modular and pre-fabricated buildings can work in three separate sectors: homes, schools and healthcare facilities. The aim, in each case, was to go beyond the traditional onsite methods of building towards looking at the benefits of offsite construction.

Post evaluation part two

Interesting feedback from my post last week on the energy performance of Portcullis House. Casey Cole, a green blogger based over In Italy pronounces it a clear fail, concentrating on how much the building emitted from 2005-2006. He reckons the building uses 50% more electricity and 60% more gas than a bog standard 1990s office block. I think I'm going to do some further digging on this by speaking to the architect Hopkins and engineer Arup. It certainly raises some questions.

Low Carbon Accelerator accelerates its investments

Low Carbon Accelerator, a listed firm specialising in sustainable investments, yesterday invested £325,000 in sustainable development firm Living Villages. The investment means that their stake in the company has risen to 20%.

Founded in 1993, Living Villages is an initiative to build eco-friendly, low-carbon housing with a "sense of place". Thus far, the company has successfully built "The Wintles" in Shropshire - a village in Bishop's Castle. Having done so, the company is looking into other projects within the UK.