Environment and sustainability in commercial office buildings

This three year project, commencing in 1998, involves a comprehensive analysis and documentation of all options involved in the pre-planning, specification, design, construction and post-occupancy management required to achieve an office building of high environmental performance. The ultimate aim of the project is to provide a building delivery model for the future. The project is essentially about the life cycle management of an environmentally designed, ecologically sustainable, commercial office building. In the case of this research, there are two projects proceeding in parallel. The first is the research itself and the second is an actual building project. The research includes the provision of property, design and construction aids which will culminate in a brief to an actual project delivery team. It will involve monitoring of the design and construction process including the placement of data logging equipment during the construction process. After the building has been commissioned, it will also involve the extraction of data in order to measure the energy requirements of the building taking into account the operations and behaviour of the occupants. Thus the research team will provide the development brief, will monitor the design and construction and will take measurements on completion.