Sustainability is an everyday part of any building project.
The challenge is how to weave sustainability into a project with practical, affordable answers that can deliver improvements to the client’s building and enjoyment of their house.
Not every client wants to build an eco house but the right project management team can help you make informed decisions about sustainability whatever your lifestyle choice.
The way this works is that project managers who understand sustainability work with architects advising on small scale renovations or large scale low and zero carbon developments within the architect’s master plan or in co-ordinating the work of a project team.
They examine a client’s needs and make proposals in a coherent and economically viable way and are happy to work directly with clients or in collaboration with an architect or design team.
This can also extend to providing input and having communication with planners, building inspectors and structural engineers concerning technical issues.
A good Project management company like Charlie Laing Project Management will profile the project at the earliest stage possible to ensure hat sustainability is build into both the plans and the budget!
Here’s our approach:
Briefing
One of our project managers visits the proposed site to ensure we have the best understanding of the project and clearly understand your design requirements. At this stage we can ensure a sound renewable energy proposal is offered within the master plan; one that will meet strict carbon reduction targets, one that is properly costed if required, and one that will be achievable in the actual build. At a further level, post planning, we offer full renewable energy design to meet any performance specification. We can review your drawings to see if we can improve them to provide a more energy-efficient/sustainable design.
Design, Planning
It would be worth you finding out what planning policies/issues you could use to support your application and which ones might be used against that you can offset as much as possible. These policies will be a mix of national planning policy guidance (PPSs) with local interpretation, and any specific local policies/ supplementary policy guidances (SPGs). The design concept should demonstrate your sustainability objectives and how the development would address key policy issues (eg minimising visual impact). You will also need drawings to illustrate elevations, floor plans, cross sections, location and site plans. HHP can assist at this stage.
Detail Design, Building Regulations
Once planning permission is gained you will need to consider the next level of technical detail to meet the latest set of building regulations. We can again contribute at this stage as much as you wish.
Tender Action
We can provide competitive quotes at the tendering stage for the fabric of the building, including structurally insulated panels (SIPs), insulated concrete formwork (ICF), thin joint masonry, timber frames, natural materials and insulation, to a whole range of renewable technologies, including solar thermal panels, photovoltaic arrays, air, ground and water source heat pumps, biomass boilers and rainwater harvesting and more.
Site Operations
We can recommend suitable contractors for installation.
If you would like to find out more, please visit our website or email us at mail@charlielaing.com We would be more than happy to discuss your requirements and help you integrate sustainability into your own home.
