How is a building’s environmental performance best demonstrated?
• Examine the range of tools available for assessing the overall impact of performance of buildings. Those tools most widely adopted have been developed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) – see under Further Resources and in the Useful Contacts section. • Use the chosen assessment to demonstrate to planning and building control officers that sustainability issues have been fully addressed from an early stage. What are the main themes that characterise sustainable building design? Consider different approaches to achieving sustainable design. The following themes are not necessarily all compatible but they require an emphasis on high insulation levels and a sensitive fit with local landscape / townscape: • Passive Solar – Use of the sun to warm a building interior directly through windows or a “sunspace” (e.g. conservatory), and of thermal mass (see below) plus insulation to store the heat. • High Thermal Mass – Use of materials with a high capacity to absorb heat energy withi
