1st Edition

Sustainable Buildings in Practice What the Users Think

By George Baird Copyright 2010
    352 Pages
    by Routledge

    348 Pages
    by Routledge

    Current assessment methods of sustainable buildings do not adequately account for the users’ needs. Given that over the life of a building, total salary costs far outweigh both operating costs and combined capital and rental costs, the occupants’ needs are not something which should be sensibly ignored.

    This book presents an unbiased evaluation of thirty of the most cutting-edge, sustainable buildings in the world, in terms of the users’ perceived comfort, health and productivity. The author has visited the buildings, interviewed the design teams and examined the findings of a sixty-question standardized user questionnaire. The book provides:

    • thirty case studies covering mixed-mode, passive and environmentally sustainable commercial and institutional buildings
    • detailed insights into the principles underlying the design of sustainable buildings worldwide, over several climatic zones and eleven countries, together with clear explanations and illustrations of innovative design practice
    • a discussion of common issues and the lessons that may be learnt from a study of the performance of sustainable buildings in practice, from the point of view of the people who use them.

    This important book will be of great benefit to architects and engineers, facility managers of commercial and institutional buildings, as well as developers and researchers, academics and students in these fields.

    Introduction  1. Overview of the Buildings and their Performance  Part 1: Buildings in Cold – Temperate Climates  2. NRG Systems Facility, Hinesburg, Vermont, USA  3. Computer Science and Engineering Building, York University, Ontario, Canada  4. Military Families Resource Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada  5. SciencePark, Gelsenkirchen, Germany  6. National Works Yard, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada  7. Liu Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada  Part 2: Buildings in Medium – Temperate Climates  8. Gifford Studios, Southampton, England  9. Arup Campus, Solihull, England  10. Zicer Building, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England  11. Renewable Energy Systems, Kings Langley, England  12. City Hall, London, England  13. The Foundation Building, Eden Project, St Austell, Cornwall, England  14. The Mathematics and Statistics and Computer Science Building, Canterbury University, Christchurch, New Zealand  15. St Mary’s Credit Union, Navan, Ireland  16. Scottsdale Forest Ecocentre, Tasmania, Australia  17. Tokyo Gas, Kohoku New Town, Yokohama  18. Nikken Sekkei Building, Tokyo  Part 3: Buildings in Warm – Temperate Climates  19. The Landcare Research Laboratory, Auckland, New Zealand  20. The Campus Reception and Administration Building, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand  21. 60 Leicester Street, Melbourne, Australia  22. 40 Albert Road, South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia  23. The Red Centre Building, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia  24. Institute of Languages, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia  25. General Purpose Building, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia  26. Student Services Centre, University of Newcastle, Australia  27. Natural Resources Defence Council, Santa Monica, California, USA  Part 4: Buildings in Hot – Humid Climates  28. Institute of Technical Education, Bishan, Singapore  29. Ministry of Energy Water and Communications Building, Putrajaya, Malaysia  30. Menara Umno, Penang, Malaysia  31.Torrent Research Centre, Ahmedabad, India

    Biography

    George Baird is a Professor of Building Science at the School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington. A Fellow of the UK's Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers and New Zealand's Institution of Professional Engineers, he is an experienced researcher and writer and has been involved in the teaching of architects and building scientists for 40 years.