Sustainability Focus – Page 9
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Features
Energy-efficient buildings – too clever by half?
A survey for Building’s Sustainability White Paper suggests that occupants find new buildings only marginally more efficient than older ones. Are their elaborate energy-slashing systems just too complicated to operate?
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Features
Top 50 rising stars of sustainability
We meet the construction industry’s green trailblazers
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Features
The University of Bradford: The stuff of BREEAM
For a university to have one building with an unprecedented 95% BREEAM score is impressive, but to have two suggests it really knows what it is doing. Building examined Bradford’s Sustainability and Enterprise Centre to find out its secret
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Features
30 things you might not know about Part L
The latest consultation on the energy regulation has already been attacked from all sides, but with the first changes set to come into force in October, housebuilders can’t afford to ignore it. Vern Pitt lays it all out on the lawn
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Features
Sustainable supermarket: M&S's new Cheshire Oaks store
At this enormous store in Chester, M&S is putting its Plan A sustainability programme to the test. And from the zero-waste policy to the innovative use of natural materials, all the evidence suggests that this is one plan A that is actually working … Building reports
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Features
Is the Green Deal heading for failure?
The Green Deal is supposed to be the biggest domestic refurbishment programme since the Second World War. But the government’s own figures predict it will be anything but. Joey Gardiner asks if the coalition’s flagship policy could be heading for failure
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Features
Carillion's purchase of Eaga: Blinded by the sun
In April, Carillion bought Eaga - a company with big plans to install PV panels on 30,000 homes - and rebranded it as Carillion Energy Services. Seven months later, government feed-in tariffs have been cut in half, and all 4,500 jobs are on the line. So was the £298m purchase ...
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Features
A lot to live up to: Building houses that meet predicted energy use
The gap between a house’s predicted energy use and actual performance has been comprehensively panned. Building meets three developers who reckon their projects will show that low carbon on paper can mean low carbon in practice
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Features
Hydropower: Water works
With all the controversy over solar, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that hydropower produces a thousand times more electricity. Building investigates a power source that could light up the industry
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Features
Quadruple glazing: Fancy a fourth layer?
It’s winter and our thoughts turn to keeping warm by any means necessary. Is quadruple glazing the solution? Thomas Lane peeks out from behind his curtains to ask the experts
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Features
Zero carbon housing using underfloor thermal heat stores
When you’ve got houses and flats on a tiny plot, no room to store fuel and little roof space, finding a zero-carbon heating solution is tricky. One team went underground to find the answer
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Features
Sustainability: Building structures
In-use energy consumption is well regulated, so should we now consider embodied carbon? Isabel McAllister and Anthony Mitchell of Cyril Sweett, Steve Webb and Anna Beckett of Webb Yates report
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Features
Party conference season: Rate my policy
Party conference season is upon us and this year the agenda is more relevant to construction than ever. Building looks at the likely policies to emerge and invites you to keep tally of their impact on the industry
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Features
Triple glazing: Clear technology
Triple glazing is no longer the preserve of environmental zealots, it has become a practical and accessible way to reduce energy loss in buildings and hit environmental targets. Building guides you through the market and latest developments
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Features
The iCon centre: the beginning of something beautiful
These days, ’green building’ is often synonymous with ’ugly architecture’. One project trying to prove otherwise is the iCon Innovation Centre in Northamptonshire. With a carbon footprint of only 12.2kg/m2 and a bold architectural identity, is this a sign of a new era for eco?
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Features
Top of the class: Passivhaus school design
A primary school in Exeter won’t win any architectural awards, but is earning gold stars in zero-carbon and Passivhaus design. Thomas Lane swots up on how to deliver a low-energy building on a budget
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Features
Brettstapel envelope: The natural choice
Getting planning permission to build a house in the stunning Scottish Borders requires a sensitive design, which is why architect Gaia specified a wooden Brettstapel envelope for this project
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Features
Post occupancy: Is your green makeover really so green?
Do low energy buildings really deliver results? Last month, Thomas Lane found two new-build offices that failed to live up to all their green credentials. Here, he reveals if two refurbished offices performed any better
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Features
Sustainability: From start to finish
Sustainability means more than how a finished building performs - how the materials start and end their lives is increasingly important. Building looks at the challenges faced when trying to go green and how three sectors are adapting
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Features
Sustainability in Brazil: For the trees
Brazil is famous for sustainability: a lack of it. But a new wave of green legislation and client requirements is creating demand for skills local contractors don’t have - and UK specialists are first in line for the work. Luke McLeod-Roberts reports in the second of our special features on ...