Abstract

This paper sets out the preliminary findings of a government funded Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between the School of Architecture & Landscape, at Kingston University London, and Clive Chapman Architects in Twickenham, London. The main aim of the project was for the architectural practice to gain in-house expertise in sustainable and environmental design and to develop and establish a specialist sustainability unit. The paper will examine how we tackle climate change in the new build residential sector in England and the practicality of implementing various requirements of the current and proposed UK legislation, sustainability codes, and local authority planning requirements. The paper briefly outlines the KTP project and the very significant benefits of knowledge transfer between academia and industry. It will focus on the global, national, regional and local requirements for energy strategy including building regulation requirements, sustainability codes and local authority requirements. A case study is described which takes an individual dwelling, typical of new housing in the UK, and models the impact of different design strategies on achieving the various requirements. This includes a description of the models that are currently being used to carry out assessments and the relative advantages and disadvantages of each. The design strategies tested include the use of different levels of fabric insulation and airtightness, ventilation strategies, fuel types, and renewable energy systems. These are then assessed against national, regional and local requirements and the impact on energy consumption and carbon emissions are quantified and presented. Preliminary findings of work already completed have shown that achieving higher levels of the Code for Sustainable Homes is prohibitively expensive and the funding systems for financial support from the Government are inadequate. The findings also show that the methods being used for quantifying energy and carbon emissions are fraught with problems and there are many conflicts in the interpretation of the requirements at different levels. As a result, there needs to be a more consistent set of guidelines at national, regional and local level, and a need for clearer definitions.