Building design should put energy efficiency and sustainability at the top of the agenda stress Terry Wyatt, president of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and Paul Hyett, past-president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Speaking to over 700 delegates at the recent CIBSE/ASHRAE conference in Edinburgh, Wyatt said: "Buildings account for 50% of carbon dioxide emissions. Energy efficiency in buildings is the only practical way of meeting the Kyoto emissions targets for reversing climate change and it is vital that architects, engineers and all those responsible for building design put sustainability at the top of the agenda."

Hyett continued in the same vein, stating: "Modern architecture has placed increasingly heavy demands on power. We need prudent as opposed to extravagant demands on power, and then only renewable power that has no damaging environmental side effects. In short, we need intelligent and intelligently designed buildings."

The conference was opened by newly appointed construction minister Nigel Griffiths MP. Over 170 speakers covering all aspects of building sustainability pushed for a global rethink in the way that buildings are designed.

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Electrical and Mechanical Contractor