Introduction

One of the aims of this book is to raise interest in building performance among designers and their clients, whether through better handover processes or by commissioning more structured research and study. It goes without saying that most building professionals recognise the value of follow-through and involvement after handover, but they are often obstructed by the procurement processes or distanced, unintentionally, through a lack of planning and forethought when a commission is undertaken. We hope that by showing the benefits, to clients and occupiers, of what has been achieved in individual projects and by leading practices, some of these perceived barriers can be overcome.

If architects and the wider construction industry fail to build in time for analysis, reflection and measurement of buildings we may lose opportunities to develop technical solutions, improve details and learn from our mistakes. In the lead up to completion much effort is put into certification and getting sign-off and we routinely consider that the job is done when the building is handed over. As a consequence design processes are often focused on the wrong outcomes. Any amount of theoretical ingenuity can now be deployed in calculations to demonstrate compliance, often with little understanding of how this will be followed through by building users. We rarely return to a project to ensure that it is performing as intended. We have neglected to talk to users, observe how our buildings have worked, and look at how they have been adapted and whether the environments we are creating are enjoyable to be in.

The book is divided into two sections: a selection of short essays is followed by a series of case studies across different building types. The case studies try to present an honest account of the buildings in use, and the contributors – both clients and designers – should be commended for sharing information about failures as well as successes. The case studies we have selected are all buildings whose design quality has been recognised, many through awards, but which exhibit a wide range of design approaches. This has implications for their performance, both technically and in terms of how they are appreciated by their users. Great skill in detail and execution is needed to achieve, for example, the joyful exuberance of John Hope Gateway (featured on the cover), but the building’s design brings its own complications for systems and operation. By contrast, the seemingly stark exteriors of some of the other case study buildings are rooted in an environmental approach that influences every early decision about form and complexity. The purpose of this book is not to promote a particular approach over any other, but to bring more closely into scrutiny the balance that designers have sought between technical surety and formal invention. In editing and reviewing the case studies we have been conscious of the difficulty of trying to present objective analysis and supporting data alongside illustrative material that conveys the quality of materials, daylight and space. The case studies are fewer in number but longer than those in this book’s predecessor, Sustainable Architecture, allowing for more commentary and evaluation. A short section that explains the evaluation techniques precedes the case studies.

The introductory essays at the start of the book are intended, as far as possible, to be self-contained – and, as with the case studies, do not need be read sequentially. There are three themes: Essays 1 and 2 discuss performance evaluation techniques. The first is a simple introduction aimed at a reader unfamiliar with the concepts. It makes a case for practical, well-planned evaluation that does not necessarily require large sums of money to be invested in academic research. It suggests that, with the input of an experienced building performance evaluator, in-use analysis is possible using the capabilities of building designers, constructors and operators. There are simple recommendations here for all projects to achieve better outcomes and more feedback for design and professional development. The first essay also outlines the value of structured empirical research, and this leads on to the second contribution, by Tom Kordel, which summarises the programme of work supported by Innovate UK, in which a large number of buildings were studied in a systematic way over a usefully long period of time. Each of the research teams was supported by an academic and an experienced building evaluator, and each project had a structured survey of user feedback. The essay identifies the common techniques used in all of the Innovate UK projects, and the lessons that emerged from this very substantial survey. Kordel also discusses some of the challenges facing the industry, in terms of collecting and interpreting building performance information. Many of the projects featured were unable to accurately report energy use for different activities from the sub-meters as installed. Nearly all suffered under-performance through unsatisfactory commissioning and set-up of building services controls. It would seem that there is some way to go before we have reliable protocols for managing these processes. The Innovate UK programme has been the source of a number of our case studies, and each of these has a full and publicly available research report that analyses all of the measured data and occupant feedback.

The second theme is the ‘performance gap’ introduced in Bill Gething’s summary of the work overseen by the Zero Carbon Hub. His essay draws largely from evidence from the house-building sector, but the lessons are relevant more generally for architectural education, design and procurement, and construction management. Here Gething sets out the scale and consequences of the problem. In Simon Bradbury’s essay it becomes very clear how simple design decisions have a substantial impact on outcomes. Bradbury gives advice to designers, drawing on experiences in teaching, research and practice. He highlights the need to model impacts on energy intelligently, but also to be aware of the limitations of the modelling tools especially where these have become so closely tied to the compliance processes of achieving Building Regulations approval. This discussion raises questions about the role of the energy modeller or building physicist within the design team, and emphasises the collaboration and understanding that is needed across building professions, and between practice and academia. In most of the projects in this book researchers have been working alongside practices to help them interrogate and understand their buildings and disseminate the findings.

To illustrate this collaboration the next pair of essays, by Mark Lumley and Dr Judit Kimpian, give accounts of the way that working processes within their respective practices have evolved after many years’ involvement in research and building evaluation. Both Architype and AHR have been able to secure repeat commissions for particular building sectors based on the accumulated knowledge and experience collected through ‘research in practice’, or through collaborations and formal knowledge-sharing structures. Lumley’s Architype essay describes how the practice’s passion for Passivhaus evolved out of a concern with energy performance and internal comfort in schools. Judit Kimpian brings a wider experience of low-energy design and policymaking from a European perspective, reflecting on the importance of disclosing performance data and the value of benchmarking through platforms such as CarbonBuzz, which she helped to establish. Kimpian suggests that with all of the changing standards, definitions and calculation protocols we have focused on theoretical performance and predictions, and not on real outcomes. By separating ‘regulated’ energy from the total energy consumed ‘in use’ and restricting the scope of Building Regulations to the fixed systems that supply ventilation, heating and lighting, we are ignoring the substantial part of the energy ‘budget’ that the occupiers control. She also introduces alternative frameworks for improving performance, such as commitment agreements between designers and constructors, and clients. Using these quite personal accounts we hope that the approach of these practices can be emulated, and that some familiarity with building performance evaluation techniques can be obtained by a wider spectrum of professionals.

Appropriately, these three groups are rounded off by Bill Bordass, who reflects on decades of political and cultural inertia that seem to have prevented progress in this area – but also looks, more optimistically, to the future. If you are a client or a building professional completely new to the subject and unaware of its significance, this is the place to start.