Buildings and spaces

In developing approaches to mitigate climate change, there is much government policy with a focus on new build.

And there is increasing demonstrable good public sector practice - schools, public buildings, homes and offices – all designed and built on low energy, resource efficient and sustainability principles. Through leadership, planning policies and influence, local authorities are playing key roles in securing these outcomes.

But we urgently need to adapt the technological advances designed for new build for use in the sustainable refurbishment of the existing building stock – especially in the current economic climate. This is an imperative given that 85 per cent of existing buildings will still be in use by 2050. Nearly 50 per cent of the UK’s CO₂ emissions come from existing stock - 27 per cent coming from domestic buildings.

Local authorities can ensure the delivery of zero carbon new build – or sustainable refurbishment of existing stock - through their planning, commissioning and procurement strategies; many are providing sound examples and influencing others through the sustainable refurbishment of their own estate.

The IDeA and Energy Saving Trust provide support to local authorities in developing strategies to reduce energy use and CO₂ emissions. The Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships provide support on procurement and construction, and the professional institutes are helping to develop the new skills required to deliver these challenging targets - the RIBA has produced an on-line Climate Change Toolkit.

Building excellence in the arts is an online resource from CABE for anyone procuring arts buildings. Arguing that sustainability should be integral to the vision for any capital project, the guidance includes two checklists of technical and design-related sustainability issues to consider.

Several tools exist for improving the sustainability of new buildings:

• Code for Sustainable Homes
• BREEAM
• Building for Life
• UKCIP Climate Change Adaptation Wizard
• RIBA Climate Change Toolkit

The National House-Building Council has published a series of practical guides that address key issues around building more sustainable homes.

Especially in an urban context, a grouping of several buildings or an urban  block offers an intermediate scale for the local implementation of wider sustainability strategies. For example, wider strategies for energy supply or pedestrian movement can be linked with specific building technologies.

This scale permits the delivery of tenure mix, efficient location of services, good street design to make walking and cycling more pleasant – and the strengthening of connectivity to surrounding neighbourhoods.

Local spaces have an important role to play in the development of green infrastructure, for example strategies to reduce the urban heat island or dealing with storm water.

Local authorities have a key role in influencing the sustainability of site development through:

• Masterplans
• Area Action Plans
• Development Control policies
• Pre-application negotiation with developers
• Building for Life - the national standard for well-designed homes and neighbourhoods. The standard can be used as a tool to steer masterplans and site development planning applications

More about the building scale

Advice for buildings and spaces

Advice for sustainable design and management at the building scale.

Examples for buildings and spaces

Examples of sustainable design and management at the building scale.