Citation
Todd, S. (2009), "Internet review", Structural Survey, Vol. 27 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ss.2009.11027bag.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Internet review
Article Type: Internet review From: Structural Survey, Volume 27, Issue 2
The web site information included below includes two key and other informative sites. If there are any other interesting sites or sources of information that you have found useful, please e-mail me at s.todd@salford.ac.uk
The Building Research Establishment
The main menu of this web site is structured as:
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Home.
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By sector.
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Job opportunities.
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How to find us.
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Contact us.
The “Latest News” section of the BRE’s web site gives information the following:
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Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Nine College Projects. POE provides the opportunity to demonstrate the significant benefits that have accrued from a new build or major refurbishment and provide lessons learned for continuous improvement that can be shared throughout the sector. In addition it can highlight where there may be any “teething troubles” with a new building – often these are a result of gaps in communication or understanding between the designers and the building occupants. This project builds on the “POE of Sustainable Development Projects” for the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) that involves undertaking POE’s on four institutions; John Wheatley, Carnegie, and Cumbernauld Colleges and Queen Margaret University, piloting the draft SFC POE Guidance and comparing the performance of sustainable and traditional buildings The process has been constructive and has been a learning opportunity for all, including design teams, estates managers and the building occupiers. The driver behind the project is the SFC’s need to demonstrate “value for money” on their capital expenditure, ensuring that the buildings they support are not only designed and procured in line with estates funding guidance, but work to the benefit of the occupants – in this case students and staff.
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BRE partners with carbon offset charity PURE. With a mission to bring about a significant reduction in the UK’s carbon footprint, PURE the Clean Planet Trust – the UK’s leading offset charity – has established a new partnership with BRE. The partnership will focus on encouraging the adoption of better carbon management practices for the business community and individuals and aims to establish UK based offset projects that will help the UK reach its 2050 80 per cent carbon reduction target. PURE was established in 2006 by Climate Exchange plc, which has also provided administration for the charity – BRE will now take on that role. To date the PURE Trust has focussed on offsetting through Kyoto projects in the developing world. The quality of its work has been recognised by the ENDS Report and independent offset rating web site Carbon Catalog.
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Community Groups awarded over £1 million in renewable energy grants. CSEP is an open grants scheme designed to help community-based organisations in England reduce their energy bills and environmental impact through renewable energy generation. It is funded by more than £10 million from the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme. The third round of the Community Sustainable Energy Programme (CSEP) capital grants scheme saw the number of applications increase by 25 per cent. In total, 69 projects were assessed by the Selection Panel and 36 awarded, funding totalling £770k. The range of applications in the third round of the scheme was very diverse and included for the first time a lido and a guide association, as well as village halls, parish councils, schools and colleges. £234k was also awarded to 103 organisations to undertake feasibility studies that will identify the most appropriate mix of measures for their buildings. For the next round of funding CSEP would like to encourage applications from the East Midlands, the North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber. These areas of the country are currently under-represented and their applications will be given priority.
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Carbon-cutting BREEAM. Over 2,000 buildings have been assessed in 2008, a 40 per cent increase on 2007 and the highest number in any one year since BREEAM’s inception. The saving of 4.5 million tonnes of CO2 has been achieved since the launch of the first scheme for offices in 1990. This equates to the annual emissions of 750,000 average UK homes over basic Building Regulation levels or the total emissions of over 40,000 UK homes over the same period. The BREEAM method now has 11 published versions tailored to specific building types ranging from courts to offices to retail. Specialist and mixed-use buildings not covered by the main schemes are assessed using a bespoke approach. BREEAM underwent its most radical update for ten years with the introduction of mandatory post-construction reviews, credits to recognise exemplary and innovative design and a new Outstanding rating to reward leading edge buildings. BREEAM was launched into the Gulf in October and pan-European versions of BREEAM have been piloted this year for retail and other sectors. Assessments are carried out by a growing legion of licensed assessors. There are now over 3,000 licensed assessors in the UK and the first group of assessors were trained this year for Europe and the Middle East. Next year will see the launch of BREEAM In Use, which will help reduce the running costs and environmental impact of existing buildings. BREEAM In Use is a powerful business management process that helps organisations improve the performance of built assets and increases organisational effectiveness.
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Green energy from whisky waste. Grimsby company, Helius Energy, has won the BRE Scotland sponsored Best Environmental Initiative Award at the Scottish Green Energy Awards 2008. Helius received the award for its GreenFields project to produce energy, animal feed and fertiliser from whisky distillery waste in Scotland. The project at the Rothes whisky distilleries in Moray includes the use of dregs and pot ale from the distilling process to generate a potential 7.2mW of electricity, the equivalent of powering 9,000 homes, most of which would be exported to the National Grid.
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Prince’s Foundation Natural House. Construction starts at the end of January 2009 of The Natural House – a low energy home built from natural materials by the Prince of Wales’ architectural charity the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment. The house is being built on the BRE Innovation Park in Watford and will demonstrate an alternative response to environmental efficiency in sustainable homebuilding. The Prince’s Foundation expects the Natural House to deliver significant energy savings right from manufacture to daily use, to offer good indoor air quality, to be simple and quick to construct and to appeal to the increasingly eco-aware homebuyer.
Key features of the Natural House are:
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Natural materials. The Natural House will rely on natural materials either grown or taken from the ground. Walls are formed from a single skin of aerated clay blocks (which have high levels of thermal insulation but lower embodied energy), with external lime render and internal wood fibreboard to provide high levels of insulation with minimal heat transfer. Outside walls are rendered in lime and hemp; roof tiles are clay and all timber for floors and windows is made from ethically and locally sourced timber, certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council.
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High air quality. Research will examine the impact of natural materials on air quality, on allergy resistance and on general sense of wellbeing.
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Ease of manufacture. The Natural House will be simple to construct and this is expected to be a significant benefit for commercial housebuilders, minimizing the need for specialist training and maximising speed of construction.
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Versatility and adaptability. The Natural House can be constructed in a range of architectural forms including paired dwellings, squares and terraces. It is designed to be highly adaptable and can be subdivided to form a family home, maisonette or smaller flat, reflecting changing demographics and needs over the long term.
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Emphasis on health. Healthy, non-toxic materials will be used throughout to provide a natural and wholesome environment.
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Local labour and materials. Local sourcing of materials and use of local labour will be encouraged to shorten supply chains and reduce emissions from transport.
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Repair and recyclability. The simplicity of materials and construction make the building easy and inexpensive to repair and materials will be sourced with a view to maximising end of life recyclability. Where possible recycled materials will be used in the original construction.
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A sense of place. The prototype Natural House will embody generic building traditions but it is hoped that when built commercially, local sourcing of materials and skills and respect for local building traditions and architecture will result in a product that echoes the “DNA” of the building context. While the house delivers vital energy savings within its own building “envelope”. The Prince’s Foundation believe that massive additional savings can be made if groups of Natural Houses are built as communities, close to public transport and local amenities.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
The Home Page gives links to:
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Global intelligence:
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RICS Housing Market Survey January 2009.
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RICS Annual Review 2007/2008.
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RICS Commercial Market Survey Q4 2008.
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View more news and opinion.
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Setting and maintaining standards:
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The role of the RICS.
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What RICS members do.
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RICS courses.
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Regulating the profession – protecting the public.
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Training – APC.
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Training – ATC.
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Corporate citizenship:
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Disaster management.
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Sustainability.
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Home buying reform.
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The very best advice:This includes free guides, which are designed to help you get the best possible advice, whether you are a small business or a consumer:
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Flooding.
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Buying a home.
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Selling your home.
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Property surveys.
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Phil Spencer On the House podcasts.
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View all RICS guides.
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Local Insight – global vision:The research team delivers insightful and useful research in every area that has an impact on the world of property, e.g.:
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What is the effect on portfolios of the time-varying correlation of real estate and company stocks?
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Mortgage markets world-wide
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The potential of Synthetic Aperture Radar for assessing carbon storage in Savanna woodlands.The increasing awareness of the impact of global warming has focused attention on the need to protect and preserve the natural stores of carbon that exist around the world. We often think of these as being the great tropical forests, such as the Amazon and African rain forests, but little attention is given to tropical savannas, which can contain a significant amount of shrubs and woodland. These globally widespread, highly productive ecosystems are the third largest store of carbon in the biosphere, after tropical forests and boreal forests. However, if savannas are to be managed to best global advantage, we have to know how much carbon they actually contain – this is a complex task, given the widespread distribution, mixed composition and variable density of this land cover. Radar remote sensing is showing considerable potential as a tool to map and quantify the amount of carbon stored in forests, offering the possibility for a continuous, non-destructive and relatively inexpensive method for measuring and monitoring vegetation over wide areas. With funding from the RICS Education Trust, a team from the University of Edinburgh have tested whether synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data can be used as a means of assessing the biomass content of Savanna areas. The radar remote sensing technique that they were testing in this study is called SAR Interferometry (InSAR). Within an area of Belize where an airborne radar remote sensing survey had previously been carried out, the research team undertook a precise topographic survey to establish the position and height of all vegetation within a transect area. The accuracy of the radar data was then determined by comparison with the observations from the field survey.
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Findings:
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there is a relationship between the locations where radar detected a vegetation canopy and the locations where vegetation was observed on the ground;
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when the heights of the vegetation canopies estimated from the radar data are compared with observations from the ground survey, the approximate extent and an indication of height of the different vegetation canopies can be achieved; but
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there is an underestimation of the vegetation height by radar, compared to the heights that are measured by ground survey.
This study shows that, in Savanna woodlands, radar data may be used to identify the extent of the broad vegetation types, but it is presently not possible to measure the heights of individual trees accurately enough to estimate their biomass reliably. Underestimates in tree height result in underestimates in biomass, although the relationship is not linear. For example, a height underestimation of 25 per cent may equate to approximately a 45 per cent underestimation of biomass (and hence carbon), whereas a 50 per cent underestimation in height translates into an underestimation of around 75 per cent in carbon storage:
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View more RICS research.
RICS Blogs including:
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Edinburgh study space.
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Red books.
Considerate Constructors Scheme
(www.considerateconstructorsscheme.org.uk)
The Considerate Constructors Scheme is the national initiative, set up by the construction industry to improve its image. Any work that could be construed by the general public as “construction” can be registered with the scheme, providing it has a duration longer than six weeks. When monitoring sites, the scheme considers all those involved in the construction process, from the local authority and the client, to the operatives and delivery drivers. Sites that register with the scheme are monitored against the eight point Code of Considerate Practice, designed to encourage performance beyond statutory requirements.
The Code of Considerate Practice includes:
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Considerate. All work is to be carried out with positive consideration to the needs of traders and businesses, site personnel and visitors, and the general public. Special attention is to be given to the needs of those with sight, hearing and mobility difficulties.
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Environment. Be aware of the environmental impact of your site and minimise as far as possible the effects of noise, light and air pollution. Efforts should be made to select and use local resources wherever possible. Attention should be paid to waste management. Reduce, reuse and recycle materials where possible.
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Cleanliness. The working site is to be kept clean and in good order at all times. Site facilities, offices, toilets and drying rooms should always be maintained to a good standard. Surplus materials and rubbish should not be allowed to accumulate on the site or spill over into the surroundings. Dirt and dust from construction operations should be kept to a minimum.
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Good neighbour. General information regarding the scheme should be provided for all neighbours affected by the work. Full and regular communication with neighbours, including adjacent residents, traders and businesses, regarding programming and site activities should be maintained from pre-start to completion.
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Respectful. Respectable and safe standards of dress should be maintained at all times. Lewd or derogatory behaviour and language should not be tolerated under threat of severe disciplinary action. Pride in the management and appearance of the site and the surrounding environment is to be shown at all times. Operatives should be instructed in dealing with the general public.
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Safe. Construction operations and site vehicle movements are to be carried out with care and consideration for the safety of site personnel, visitors and the general public. No building activity should be a security risk to others.
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Responsible. Ensure that everyone associated with the site understands, implements and complies with this code.
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Accountable. The Considerate Constructors Scheme poster is to be displayed where clearly visible to the general public. A site’s contact details should be obvious to anyone affected by its activities.
Solarcentury
Solarcentury was founded in 1998 to design and supply solar energy solutions for the built environment.
Founder and Executive Chairman Jeremy Leggett established Solarcentury to address the threat of climate change by reducing CO2 emissions through the application of solar energy.
They envisage solar systems on the roof of every building, backed up by other micro renewables, supplying clean power and achieving deep cuts in carbon emissions. They design innovative products, work with architects and developers to incorporate solar technology into the built environment and offer support and guidance throughout the entire planning and development process.
The main menu of the web site includes links to:
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Confused by solar?
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Watch our film about solar tiles.
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Large residential developers section.
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Smaller developers and self-builders.
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How solar technology works.
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The Code.
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Exporting electricity.
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Specifying solar.
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Vision.
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Company profile.
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Principles.
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Jobs.
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Environmental statement 2008.
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Accreditations.
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Where to find us.
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Solar4Schools.
WRAP
The home screen states that “WRAP helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change”. WRAP’s three primary targets are:
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Sending less to landfill. WRAP will stop 8 million tonnes of waste materials from the household, industrial and commercial waste streams going to landfill.
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Reducing carbon emissions. WRAP’s programmes will save 5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions.
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Increasing economic impacts. WRAP will deliver around £1.1 billion of positive economic impacts for business, local authorities and consumers through £850 million of cost savings and £280 million of increased turnover in recycling and related industries.
WRAP works in a fast changing industry, against an economic and policy background that can shift rapidly. Their ability to achieve increasingly demanding targets for landfill diversion and CO2 reduction requires us to maintain a broad-based competency across the materials and sectors, which influence the resource efficiency loop. However, each Business Plan inevitably involves shifts of emphasis, and over the next three years, we will be focusing on four priority areas:
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Packaging.
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Food waste.
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Collection systems.
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Quality of materials.
TRADA
The main menu is structured as:
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Technical information.
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Regulations and codes.
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Case studies.
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Membership.
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Bookshop.
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Training.
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News.
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Suppliers directory.
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Commercial services.
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FAQs.
The latest case study gives information on the Marlowe Academy.
The new Marlowe Academy replaces a 1960s school, which had a persistently poor record in educational achievement. Under the government’s academy concept, a civic-minded individual or organisation must act as a sponsor, providing £2 million and an “inspirational vision” for the school. At Marlowe, Roger de Haan, former chairman of the SAGA Corporation in Folkestone was joint sponsor with Kent County Council and they, together with the Department of Education and Skills, drew up the brief. The academy retains the original syllabus, based on BTec qualifications, of the old school but also focuses on new specialisations – art and design, performing arts and sports. Other case studies include:
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Greenwich Millennium School and Health Centre.
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“Opus One” Building, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge.
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David Douglas Pavilion, Pitlochry.
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Outdoor Activities Centre, Langstone Harbour, Hampshire.
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The Winter Garden, Sheffield.
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White Scar Caves, Nr Ingleton, Yorkshire.
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House, Dungeness Beach, Kent.
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Library, March, Cambridgeshire.
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The Black House, Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire.
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The Old Woodyard, Hargham Estate.
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The Savill Building, Windsor Great Park, Windsor.
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The Core, Eden Project Phase 4, St Austell, Cornwall.
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Holly Barn, Norfolk.
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Sutton Hoo Visitor Centre, Woodbridge, Suffolk.
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Refectory, Norwich Cathedral Visitor Centre.
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Inn The Park Restaurant, St James’ Park, London.
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Formby Swimming Pool.
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Velux Headquarters, Kettering.
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The National Maritime Museum, Falmouth, Cornwall.
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External Timber Public Walkways.
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The Alnwick Garden.
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Anglesey Abbey Visitor Centre.
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Kingsdale School.
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House, Rowe Lane, London.
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Dalby Visitor Centre.
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Sainsbury’s, Dartmouth, Devon.
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Great Bow Yard.
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Parliamentary Ticket Office, Westminster.
CDM2007
The CDM2007.org web site is created by Bromley Council and managed by Bromley Council as a central e-learning portal for the benefit of all other public bodies. Their reasons for undertaking this role include:
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The new CDM2007 Regulations require all duty holders to be competent to undertake their legal duties.
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There is no professional body addressing the needs of the corporate “legal person” undertaking construction related operations.
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The law requires all duty holders to be able to prove they are competent within the first 12 months following the introduction of CDM2007 – the proof is required from 6 April 2008 by law.
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Through joining into the scheme of CDM2007.org and maintaining continuous membership, each organisation will have the means to gain the necessary level of knowledge and understanding for their teams through an accredited on-line e-learning process and be able to register the training to prove they are competent as the law requires.
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Being part of the scheme keeps each organisation in touch with a unified and accredited pool of knowledge and practice accepted by the HSE.
Stephen Todd