The chair of RLF on a better approach to fitting out developments

Heat map towers

I read the article on the subject of reducing carbon footprint in a recent edition of Building and would offer the following as a potential game changer (“Feeling the heat”, 11 December 2015, page 30).

Reducing our carbon footprint is a key area for the building industry to work on, so why do we continue to fit out our developments to CAT A when, more often than necessary, a tenant will come in and rip it all out because it does not suit their requirements?

Surely we could fit out say half a floor and this, coupled with CGIs, would be good enough for the agents to go to the market?

We will need to rethink how we go about commissioning services, and so on, but I believe the savings to the client in time and allowing for landlord contributions alone would make this worthwhile and certainly there would be a huge reduction across the board in terms of carbon reduction through the construction process.

Steven G Barker, chairman, Robinson Low Francis, via email

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