Only with evaluation and scrutiny at all stages can we learn from the design decisions and improve. Using early stage design tools, operational energy modelling and predicted energy usage and post occupancy evaluation across the life of our projects we can learn the effects of choices made in design.
Reducing carbon is key in the current climate crisis, but we still need to consider other aspects, including air quality, biodiversity, transport, water use, health and wellbeing, social value, food, and equity.
Since 2004 FCBStudios have been working with Bioregional’s vision for a world where we can all live happily and fairly within the Earth’s resources. We have helped to test the application of the ten One Planet Living Principles within architecture, establishing goals and guidance for achieving environmentally and socially sustainable change.
Every project within the practice undergoes a One Planet Living review at key stages of design.
We recommend that POE studies are carried out on all our projects to review occupant satisfaction alongside the energy performance of the building. It’s good to say that a building is carbon zero but if we don’t go back after completion, then we’ll never know if it is.
Interviews and questionnaires can provide rich detailed subjective findings, but a truer picture of occupant satisfaction also requires correlation with objective environmental monitoring of issues affecting comfort such as temperature, reverberation times and air quality.
This data can be collected to various levels of detail, at different times of the year, and once analysed against energy consumption figures, allows improvements to be suggested to both raise occupant satisfaction and drive down carbon impact.
We can learn from past projects, and over time close the performance gap between forecasted energy use and actual energy use.
