Internet review

The web site information included below includes two key and other informative sites. If there are any other interesting sites or sources of information that you have found useful, please e-mail me at s.todd@salford.ac.uk

The Building Research Establishmentwww.bre.co.uk

The latest news from BRE includes information on:

• Designing out urban crime and anti-social behaviour. This is a European Commission funded project to research Crime Prevention through Environmental Design. One of the outputs would be to produce a “toolkit”of strategies for dealing with urban crime and anti-social behaviour.

• Environmental impacts of construction. BRE needs to quantify the importance of different environmental impacts for use in the current update of the Green Guide to Specification, a publication used by architects, specifiers and their clients to evaluate the relative environmental impacts of different construction solutions. The best performing specifications gain credits in the BREEAM and EcoHomes schemes. BRE is employing a panel of experts to determine relative weightings for use in the Guide, but are also carrying out a parallel consultation that will give industry the opportunity to weight the 13 environmental impact categories via a web-based questionnaire. In addition to the review of weightings, BRE is proposing revisions to their Life Cycle Assessment Methodology and the specifications that underpin the Guide.

• Biomass. Biomass could make a vital contribution to the UK’s targets for combating climate change, but has not been developed as quickly here as elsewhere in Europe.

• Building energy assessment. A software tool commissioned by ODPM and developed by BRE will help those developing and designing buildings with the complex, but soon-to-be essential, task of assessing their buildings’energy performance. Such assessments will be needed for all new (and many large refurbished) buildings to comply with the revised Part L of the Building Regulations, and to produce the energy rating that will be required from next year under the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). Known as SBEM (simplified building energy method), the tool is a package of software that simplifies the job of the national calculation methodology (laid down in the Part L consultation document) for buildings other than most dwellings (see notes below). It demonstrates a building’s compliance with minimum energy performance standards, and works out its EPBD asset rating. This rating shows how much energy the building uses under standardised design conditions, and will have to be made available to prospective purchasers and tenants. The national calculation methodology is necessarily complex, taking many factors into account including the building’s fabric, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, position and orientation, and occupancy and use. SBEM simplifies this process by using monthly average calculations that should provide a sufficiently accurate assessment of all except the most complex buildings, and by providing a user-friendly means of inputting building information.

The tool consists of three elements:

• 1.

  the SBEM energy use calculation tool;

• 2.

  an interface (known as iSBEM) by which the user of the tool can input the necessary information on the building’s geometry, construction, activities and service systems; and

• 3.

  a set of databases – of activities within buildings, descriptions of wall, floor, roof and glazing systems, and details on heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting systems – which the tool can draw information from.

SBEM is being developed to cover dwellings in excess of 450 m²and buildings that are not dwellings. The prototype version of the simplified building energy model can be viewed on the web (see www.ncm.bre.co.uk). For dwellings with floor areas up to 450 m², the national methodology will cite SAP 2005 as the method for calculating building energy performance.

Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)

The EPBD was published in January 2003 and must be transposed into law by each EU member state with effect from 4 January 2006. It can be summarised as seven different but interrelated requirements:

• 1.

  a calculation methodology to determine the energy performance of the building, which must be adopted at national or regional level;

• 2.

  minimum energy performance standards for all new buildings;

• 3.

  minimum energy performance standards for buildings with a useable floor area of more than 1,000 m² undergoing major renovation – at the level of the whole building or applying only to the proposed works;

• 4.

  an energy performance certificate when a building is being sold or leased;

• 5.

  the public display of an energy performance certificate, not older that ten years, in certain public buildings;

• 6.

  regular inspection of boilers and air-conditioning systems;

• 7.

  qualified and/or accredited experts to provide the certificates and carry out the inspections in an independent manner.

BRE Innovation Park

BRE’s Innovation Park is a “mini village” of full-scale demonstration houses and was opened by the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott during his visit to OFFSITE 2005 on Monday 6 June. The Innovation Park is designed to trial and demonstrate new and emerging technologies and provide training opportunities with the aim of boosting confidence in modern methods of construction (MMC). It will remain on BRE’s site at Garston for the next two years. The UK needs an additional 39,000 new homes annually, according to estimates by the Barker Review of Housing Supply. Mr Prescott said MMC would play a vital role in providing these additional homes. In combination with the new LPS2020 standards and certification scheme (developed by BRE Certification for launch in 2006) the BRE Innovation Park is expected to increase uptake of MMC by demonstrating its durability and resilience. “The Innovation Park and the LPS2020 scheme will show how MMC has the potential to deliver the step change in construction that we need so urgently and both schemes will develop over time to embrace the newest and best technologies on a on-going basis.”The demonstration homes currently on the Innovation Park have been built in time for OFFSITE 2005 and the manufacturers have incorporated a huge range of innovative features. The Concrete House has been built by Hanson, the Steel House by Van Elle and Metek and the Timber House by Century Homes. Further homes will be built as the Park develops. LPS2020 – the new Loss Prevention Standard for Innovative Dwellings – is the result of two years of industry consultation led by BRE. There are currently six manufacturers going through the calibration phase and the standard should be operational by early 2006. The LPS2020 Standards and Certification scheme will assess that innovative construction methods meet certain resilience and durability standards. Common causes of insurance claims include wind and storm damage, burst pipes, fire in rooms, flood, subsidence and security. LPS202 will assess vulnerability to these risks and consider how such damage could be repaired. Manufacturers and builders can apply for further optional standards that set higher levels of performance in specific areas. These are fire performance (LPS2023), enhanced energy performance (LPS2024), enhanced security (LPS 2025) and enhanced flood resilience (LPS 2026). LPS2027 will provide environmental profiling.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyorswww.rics.org.uk

The Latest News section includes:

• Briefing on commercial lease reform. The government is looking to proceed with their review on the law applying to assignment and sub-letting of commercial leases.

• Planning and housing portfolio. This includes: homebuying reform (HIP’s 2007), the Barker Review (affordability and consumer access to the residential market), Housebuilding and spending review, and Clearance (tenant groups raising the issue of replacing older properties with significant environmental problems).

• Historic homes. According to this article Britain’s heritage of Victorian terraced housing is being rapidly lost by unnecessary demolition and poor quality restoration. The RICS believe that accurate restoration is essential for the preservation of Britain’s culture and legacy, but is concerned by the increasing shortfall of specialist skills to do this within the property and construction industries.

• Green Belt reform. The ODPM has launched a consultation paper,“Draft of the Town and Country Planning (Green Belt) Direction 2005”,which deals with the protection of the green belt, which local planning authorities are minded to agree with, to be referred to the Deputy Prime Minister.

• World heritage status. A total of 17 new historic sites were granted UNESCO world heritage status in July, including one of the defining geodetic survey measurements of the nineteenth century, the Struve Arc, which ran from Norway to the Black Sea.

Engagewww.engageweb.org

This web site has been set up to help to deliver socially responsible construction projects. The web site has been developed by the ENGAGE partners CIRIA, Forum for the Future, Sustainable Development Corporation and Burro Happold. It is also possible to access to a “Guidance Database”.

AggRegainwww.aggregain.org.uk

This website has been redesigned to include information on the use of recycles and secondary aggregates. It has been developed by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). The main elements of the site include:

• The Specifier;

• Supplier Directory;

• Case Studies;

• Planning;

• Recycling Infrastructure;

• Quality;

• Waste Management Regulations;

• Demolition;

• Procurement;

• Sustainability; and

• Sustainable Aggregates.

Metals Forumwww.metalsforum.org

The Metals Forum is an alliance of metals industries employing nearly half a million people. Each year these businesses sell £38 billion of metals into engineering, construction, automotive, aerospace and other manufacturing sectors. The main aim of this website is to make information about the UK metals industry more easily accessible.

BREMAPwww.smartwaste.co.uk

BREMAP is a Geographical Information System (GIS) that has information on recycled products, landfill sites, transfer stations, incinerators, recycling sites, reclamation companies, composting facilities and manufacturer take-back schemes. Access to the information is simply obtained by typing in the postcode,which then allows firms to reduce transport of bulky waste by searching for the most suitable waste management site. Information is also given on the availability of recycled or reclaimed construction materials and products locally.

Chartered Institution of Waste Managementwww.ciwm.co.uk

The Chartered Institution of Waste Management is one of the leading professional bodies for waste and resource management. The CIWM has launched a new training initiative designed to make employees more aware of waste. The course is supported by DEFRA, DTI, the Environment Agencies in England,Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and by WRAP.

Solutia Architecturewww.vanceva.com/design

This site enables specifiers to review the benefits of laminated glass. The site is structured as:

• About benefits;

• Product studio;

• Glass manufacturers specification codes;

• Project/design awards; and

• Media room.

Sarnafil Ltdwww.sarnafil.co.uk

This site gives interactive details of products, services and legislation. The site includes drawings, specification clauses and downloadable literature. The main menu includes:

• News;

• About us;

• Ground waterproofing;

• Standard details; and

• Reference projects.

Lafarge Cement UKwww.lafargecement.co.uk

This redesigned web site includes information to meet the requirements of cement users. There is an online search facility. It is possible to select specific sections related to six groups:

• 1.

  Specifiers;

• 2.

  Contractors;

• 3.

  Merchants;

• 4.

  Housebuilders;

• 5.

  Selfbuilders; and

• 6.

  Civil engineers.

The Design Statement Toolwww.designstatement.co.uk

The Regional Development Agency One NE has launched a guide to the UK planning process. The Design Statement Tool will help with providing design statements that will demonstrate the project’s role in raising regional standards. A design statement is a document used to explain and illustrate the principles and concepts behind the design and layout of a proposed development and is submitted with a planning application. They are important in demonstrating how a proposal relates to both the site and its wider context, the surrounding area.

English Partnershipswww.englishpartnerships.co.uk

The main menu is structured as:

• Core Business Areas;

• Programmes and Initiatives;

• Projects and Sites;

• Joint Ventures;

• Best Practice;

• Publications;

• News; and

• Events Diary.

The site also gives details of the £60,000 house challenge and the nine winning entries.

The competition is one part of the Government’s progress in delivering decent, affordable homes for everyone – whether to rent or buy – in sustainable communities where they are proud to live. The ODPM’s planning reforms are resulting in more efficient use of land, so that the 1.1m homes needed in the wider Southeast can be built on less land that the previous government set aside for just 900,000 homes, saving 5,000 ha of greenfield land.

Stephen Todd