Sustainability

What sustainability means for us

Our goal – to design healthy, comfortable, inclusive buildings that maximise social value and minimise environmental impact – means having a detailed understanding of the social, political, and environmental factors at play, developing effective relationships with construction experts, and taking a diligent and continuous approach to sustainable practices and solutions.

From the reuse and improvement of existing buildings, where possible, to the new spaces we create, we evaluate every stage of the design and construction process to reduce the carbon impact – both embodied and operational – and minimise energy use. We consider this a moral imperative as well as our passion.

We’re also happy to help clients work towards achieving their own sustainability goals and certification schemes, including BREEAM, LEED, and Passivhaus.

Reuse, retrofit, refurbish

We always explore the potential for reusing existing structures over building something new. That could mean refurbishment, remodelling, recladding, retrofitting, extending, change of use, or partial demolition – areas becoming increasingly important for development opportunities.

And we build flexibility and future use into our designs, preventing redundancy or the need for further change or demolition down the road. 

How we do it

Whole Life Carbon

Minimising the energy consumed in constructing and operating a building originates from the concept and design stages. We pour our energy into this, as it can have a huge impact on cost and performance. 

Waste

The construction industry produces a lot of waste and causes air, water, and soil pollution. Our design practices help maximise the potential for reuse of buildings and their constituent elements.

Our team has experience collaborating with off-site fabrication suppliers to create innovative, energy efficient, and sustainable homes where material waste reduction was a primary driver. The resulting kits focused on circularity, where materials could be reused and recycled more effectively.

Renewable energy

We integrate sustainable energy solutions into our designs, reducing operational carbon while enhancing efficiency and resilience. With solar, wind, and passive design strategies from the start, we create buildings that generate, store, and optimise energy use. 

The Bristol Heart Institute extension is a perfect example. We met local authority targets for reduction of energy use, low carbon and passive design, including a 45 percent reduction in CO2 emissions with a 230 m2 solar PV array on the roof.  

Water

To prevent the withdrawal of fresh water from an ecosystem exceeding its natural replacement rate, we work to reduce water loss, use, and waste – by putting conservation and water efficiency measures in place – and improve water management practices.

Responsible sourcing

We use sustainable building materials, including FSC timber and natural stone products, to conserve dwindling non-renewable resources. Choosing materials based on environmental product declarations also helps reduce the impacts caused by the extraction, transport, processing, fabrication, installation, reuse, recycling, and disposal of these finite resources.