There has never been a bigger need for sustainable architecture. High energy prices are causing big problems for households and businesses. In addition, climate change and the impact on the environment are major issues. Luckily, good designs can make sure buildings have a smaller carbon footprint and have energy efficient operations. We can help with this, whether it is residential, public, or commercial architecture.

What we want to do here is look at the five most important factors if you want your property to be sustainable.

Shop local

People know how important it is to choose the right materials for buildings, ensuring they have a low carbon footprint. However, it is also vital to think about shipping them to the site. You need to look at this to ensure you don’t offset the good work.

Physically transporting materials can use a lot of energy and produce a great deal of greenhouse gases. The best thing you can do here is minimise how far they have to travel to reach you. Buying locally is the best option and can reduce the environmental impact.

When you buy local it also offers a number of other benefits. It will help the economy in the area because you will be buying from local producers and supporting jobs. Plus, it can make the construction process more efficient as you likely won’t have to wait as long for a delivery.

Choose renewable energy

Any time a building can generate some of its own power using renewables is a very good thing. It can reduce pressure on the grid and cut down on fossil fuel use. It can also be much cheaper, especially with high prices for fuels like gas and coal.

There are lots of options here, such as solar panels, wind, and hydro. Commercial architecture can often have a very good opportunity to use this tech. Larger buildings that have expansive roofs capable of holding lots of solar panels can definitely benefit. In the right conditions they could produce a huge proportion of the energy they need.

Be efficient with ongoing energy consumption

A building is not really sustainable if it uses a huge amount of energy to operate. Your goal should be to keep this as low as possible, both for your operating costs and the environment.

There are a number of things to do here. For example, you can ensure you have modern equipment that is as efficient as it can be. Everything from computers to kitchen appliances and even industrial plant can be low energy.

It is also crucial to look at your core systems, such as heating, ventilation and air con (HVAC) and lighting. They can be major energy consumers. Again you can choose low energy products. However, you can also design buildings to take advantage of natural ventilation and daylighting. They are much greener.

Recycling

There are several things you can do here to make projects have a smaller impact on the environment. Firstly, you can choose recycled materials. Why use new steel if you can reuse older materials with no performance issues?

In addition, you should design the building so the materials you use are recyclable in the future. Ideally your property should be built to offer decades of service or more, whether is it housing, a public building, or commercial architecture. However, there could be a time when it needs to come down. The best thing here for the environment is if materials can be recycled rather than go to landfill.

Look at water use

Being sustainable is not just about the carbon footprint of buildings. You also need to look at managing other finite resources. Water is the most crucial here, especially with drought and shortages becoming more common.

The best thing to do is ensure water efficiency. For example, all fixtures and fittings should be efficient and not waste water. This includes taps, toilets, showers. There are plenty of products that can reduce your usage but still ensure the comfort and wellbeing of people in the property.

Talk to us to create commercial architecture

Coffey Archtects understands the principles of sustainability. As a result, we can help clients to get it right with their projects. It could be a complete new build or a renovation. In all cases, we can ensure you are sustainable.

So, contact us today to learn more.