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We see sustainability and architectural excellence as inseparable.
A previous winner of the RIBA Sustainability Award, we recognise that architects are uniquely placed as advocates of sustainable design, in helping to set realistic but progressive carbon and energy targets, directing and integrating the many different briefing, design and technical inputs required.
As buildings create 40% of UK’s carbon footprint and 60% of our waste, there is massive scope for carbon reduction. With a step-change in our design thinking, buildings can become an essential part of an intelligent zero-carbon future. Associated Architects are keen to stay at the leading edge, creating the low and zero-carbon buildings of tomorrow that are more in tune with the planet and the people who use them we are actively supporting the UKGBC mission to radically improve the sustainability of the built environment and taking action to mitigate our own contribution to climate change. We are doing this through our commitment to becoming a carbon-neutral business and measuring this via Planetmark Certification
The UK government has committed to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with many local authorities setting a more ambitious target of 2030.
With the built environment contributing around 40% of the UK’s total carbon footprint, a fundamental change in mindset and approach is required for how we design, build and operate buildings, in order to meet these targets.
We have adopted a whole lifecycle carbon approach, ensuring all sources of emissions are considered including embodied and operational carbon. We have developed a range of carbon analysis tools to enable us to advise our clients on strategies for delivering low and zero carbon buildings and assist decision making. These tools allow us to optimise the passive design performance of our buildings, as well as assessing their embodied carbon impacts.
We also act in an advisory capacity, assisting Estates Managers, Asset Managers and Local Authorities to develop a route map to achieving their net zero carbon objectives and inform future development plans
The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has developed a framework definition for net zero carbon buildings to provide the industry with clarity on how to achieve net zero carbon in construction and operation.
Net zero carbon – construction is defined as:
“When the amount of carbon emissions associated with a building’s product and construction stages up to practical completion is zero or negative, through the use of offsets or the net export of on-site renewable energy.”
A building targeting net zero carbon for construction should be designed to achieve net zero carbon for operational energy.
Around 80% of the buildings expected in 2050 already exist today, necessitating significant retrofitting efforts for the UK’s existing building stock to achieve net zero emissions. Retrofitting is more carbon-efficient than demolition, and we prioritise it whenever possible. 10 Brindleyplace in Birmingham is our largest retrofit project.
Building owners choose retrofitting for various reasons, including economic benefits through reduced energy costs, increased asset value, and carbon emission reduction. With ageing building stock and growing sustainability awareness among occupants, the demand for creative solutions to enhance energy efficiency and rejuvenate buildings is rising.
Our sensitive design interventions have successfully transformed numerous ageing and underperforming buildings, significantly reducing carbon emissions and creating enduring, inspiring spaces. Different building types present unique challenges, and our approach remains consistent—rooted in analysis and delivering efficient, practical solutions to maximise benefits
We have a passion for designing award-winning contemporary buildings using sustainable methods, technology and materials. The Passivhaus approach to low energy building design, provides us with an industry-benchmarked methodology.
Our Passivhaus certified designers have delivered some of the country’s most significant Passivhaus schemes, including the UK’s largest, non-domestic, Passivhaus building, the George Davies Centre for Medicine at the University of Leicester, England’s first homes to both zero carbon (Code for Sustainable Homes level 6) and Passivhaus standards, the Eco Vicarages in Worcestershire and the UK’s first Multi-Comfort building, Bartholomew Barn at Kings School.
Passivhaus is an international energy performance standard that provides a robust methodology and rigorous quality assurance process, verified and certified via independent testing. It can be applied to both domestic and non-domestic buildings, for new build and retrofit projects. Passivhaus buildings provide a high level of occupant comfort while using very little energy for heating and cooling. This is primarily achieved by adopting a fabric first approach with meticulous attention to detail and rigorous design and construction. By specifying high levels of insulation and exceptional levels of airtightness,
Passivhaus buildings can achieve a reduction of 75% in space heating requirements, compared to standard practice for UK new builds. Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) software is used to accurately model the design and calculate energy use and CO₂ emissions. PHPP’s sophisticated tools enable a wide range of variable characteristics to be tested in order to optimise the design, producing an accurate predicted energy use that will closely reflect real-world performance.
Evidence shows that Passivhaus buildings perform to their designed standard in-use. This is crucial, given that there can be a discrepancy of as much as 50-100% between design aspiration and as-built performance for many new buildings in the UK.
Contact Us :
Contact Us :
Find Us :
Birmingham | Leeds | Oxford
1 Severn Street Place
The Mailbox
Birmingham
B1 1SE
Find Us :
Birmingham | Leeds | Oxford
1 Severn Street Place
The Mailbox
Birmingham
B1 1SE