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Integration of sustainability in the design

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PLEA2006 - The 23 Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva, Switzerland, 6-8 September 2006

Integration of sustainability in the design process of

contemporary architectural practice

Maureen Trebilcock1,2, Brian Ford1 and Robin Wilson1

1
School of the Built Environment, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
2
Departamento Diseño y Teoría de la Arquitectura, Universidad del Bío-Bío, Concepción, Chile

ABSTRACT: This paper explores the integration of sustainability in the architectural design process
with particular emphasis on the role of design-assisting tools. The methodology was based on five
case studies of contemporary architectural practices in Europe that are considered to be leaders in
the field of sustainable design: Edward Cullinan, Michael Hopkins and Feiden Clegg Bradsley in the
UK; Mario Cucinella in Italy; and Behnisch, Behnisch and Partner in Germany. A specific non-
domestic sustainable building designed by each practice was chosen as an embedded unit of
analysis. The data collection strategies included interviews with architects, engineers and clients; as
well as compilation of graphic information including drawings and reports; and observations.
The conclusions establish that early stages of the design process are based on knowledge and
experience of the architects and engineers, usually embedded in the form of architectural
precedents. Design-assisting tools play very limited role at early stages, and an important but
restricted role during design development, mostly as checking tools and to inform some minor
architectural decisions. In addition, they sometimes become a tool of communication and client
persuasion. The role of these tools in the decision-making process increases enormously when
there is a high risk perceived in the project.

Keywords: design process, sustainable architecture, design-assisting tools, interdisciplinary work.

1. INTRODUCTION predominance of the top-down approach to research

in the field seems to have left a gap between
There is increased awareness amongst architects research and practice that might be filled by a bottom-
of the urgent need to integrate sustainability in their up approach of learning from practice.
projects, driven by the growing awareness of the This paper explores the role of design-assisting
impact mankind is having on the planet. Integration tools in the integration of sustainability in the design
is a key aspect of sustainable architecture that implies process from a bottom-up approach to research. It is
shifting from the modern western pursuit of based on a naturalistic system of inquiry, in which the
reductionism to a holistic view of interrelatedness and basic ontological premise recognises that there are
entirety throughout the design process. multiple, socially constructed realities; in this case it
Understanding the design process with respect to the recognises the uniqueness and complexity of the
integration of sustainability demands that the design process. The naturalistic approach also
uniqueness and complexity of the process is recognises that it is neither possible nor necessarily
acknowledged and that the interplay between the role desirable to establish a value-free objectivity; so it is
of the technical and the social skills brought to bear important to acknowledge the role that interpretation
by different players within the design team is studied. has played in reporting the findings of this study [1].
The technical dimension is defined in this study as the
use of design-assisting tools and methods; while the
social dimension is defined as interdisciplinary 2. METHODOLOGY
collaborative work.
Researchers have acknowledged the importance 2.1 Case Study Theory Building
of design-assisting tools to help facilitate the The research method of case study theory
integration of sustainability in the design process and building is appropriate for the aims of this project
have focused on the development of these tools, because it is a bottom up approach that maintains
particularly for early stages of the design process that the specific of data produce the generalisations
when most of the crucial design decisions are made. of theory [2]. This method is particularly useful to
This top-down approach of developing tools, methods investigate a contemporary phenomenon within its
and guidelines has dominated research in the field. real-life context [3]. The case studies are
But, what actually occurs in practice? How do contemporary architectural practices and the
architects integrate sustainability in the design embedded units of analysis are the design processes
process? What is the role of design-assisting tools in giving rise to sustainable buildings designed by each
contemporary architectural practice? The practice.
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PLEA2006 - The 23 Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva, Switzerland, 6-8 September 2006

2.2 Selection of cases Most of the sustainable agenda of the project

The first stage of the selection of cases consisted focused on the design of an efficient structure that
of screening seventeen contemporary architectural would make an economic use of materials; and on the
practices in Europe that are considered by the procurement of local and sustainable building
architectural media as leaders in sustainable design. materials. The design of the first double-layered
From those seventeen cases, five cases were chosen timber gridshell in the UK implied a high associated
according to accessibility criteria. After a first risk for the design team. The design process was
interview with one of the architects, one recent non- mainly driven by the structural design of the gridshell
domestic sustainable building designed by the that required extensive use of design-assisting tools
practice was selected as an embedded unit of to diminish the risk.
analysis.
3.2 Hopkins and the Business School
2.3 Data collection Hopkins Architects is an internationally recognised
Data collection was based on triangulation: using architectural practice, based in London, UK. Their
multiple sources of information, rich in context. It projects are based on a principle of truth to materials
included semi-structured interviews with different and expression of structure that results in logical
members of the design team; essentially architects, designs; or what Davies calls ‘environmental
engineers and clients. It also included compilation of rationalism’ [4]. Some of their sustainable buildings
various types of documents that recorded the design include the Inland Revenue in Nottingham; Jubilee
process: architectural drawings, sketches, reports, Campus at Nottingham University; and Porticullis
multimedia presentations, photographs, articles in House in London.
journals, etc. Finally, it included observations of the The Business School is an extension of the
buildings. award-winning Jubilee Campus of Nottingham
University. It was designed between 2001 and 2004
by a team led by Hopkins and the engineers Arup
3. CASE STUDIES (Fig. 2).

3.1 Cullinan and Downland Gridshell

Edward Cullinan Architects is one of the leading
British practices, based in London. Their work is
recognised for its collective spirit; its relation to
landscape; its fascination with the construction
process and the expressionism of materials. They
have designed significant sustainable buildings in the
UK, such as Archeolink Visitors Centre; the Faculty of
Mathematics at Cambridge and the Millennium
School and Health Centre at Greenwich.
Downland Gridshell is one of the most relevant
sustainable buildings designed by the practice during
the last few years. It is part of the Weald and
Downland Museum in West Sussex, UK, and it
houses a workshop for restoring timber frame
buildings and an artefact store. The building was
designed between 1996 and 2002 by a team led by
Cullinan and the engineers Buro Happold (Fig. 1).
Figure 2: Business School
The sustainable agenda of the building tried to
replicate the first phase of Jubilee, focusing on mixed
mode ventilation, optimisation of daylight and
provision of low-energy efficient equipment.
The idea of replicating the first phase dominated
the whole design process, where the underlying
concepts were used as a precedent and a model to
develop. In contrast to Downland Gridshell, there is
little evidence that design tools played an important
role in the decision-making process.

3.3 Feilden Clegg Bradley and the National Trust

Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects have a
reputation of pioneers in sustainable architecture in
the UK. They place climate change very high on the
practice’s concerns, so their projects tend to focus on
Figure 1: Downland Gridshell reducing CO2 emissions within a holistic sustainable
agenda. Some of their well-known sustainable
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PLEA2006 - The 23 Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva, Switzerland, 6-8 September 2006

buildings are the BRE Environmental Building and

Greenpeace Headquarters.
The National Trust Headquarters in Swindon, UK,
is due to become an exemplar building in terms of low
CO2 emissions and one of the best day lit and
naturally ventilated office buildings in the UK. FCBA
and Max Fordham engineers led the design team.
The design process started in 2002 and the building
was handed over in 2005 (Fig. 3).

Figure 4: Hines building

The architects performed solar analysis of the
existing buildings at the beginning of the design
process and an energy assessment at the end of the
process. However, the evidence suggests that the
integration of sustainability in the design process of
this building was mostly guided by knowledge and
experience, rather than on the use of design-assisting
tools.
Figure 3: National Trust Headquarters
3.5 Behnisch and Nord/LB
The sustainable agenda behind the building was Behnisch, Behnisch and Partner is a practice of
very comprehensive, covering aspects from CO2 broad international reputation, based in Stuttgart,
emissions to transport. The main features were Germany. It is committed to innovative architecture
daylight and natural ventilation that concentrated and sustainability is very high on their agenda. They
most of the team’s attention. The deep plan two- have designed some internationally recognised
storey scheme represented an unusual solution for an sustainable buildings, such as the Genzyme Centre in
office building, but it responded to the existing Cambridge, US; and the Institute for Forestry and
nineteenth century industrial buildings on the site and Nature Research in Wageningen, Netherlands.
it provided natural light and ventilation via the roof. The Nord/LB Headquarters in Hanover, Germany
The performance of the proposal was analysed was designed between 1996 and 2004 by a team led
throughout the design process using different tools by Behnisch and Transsolar energy consultants. The
and focusing on daylight, solar penetration and building was also the result of an international
natural ventilation. competition that sighted to bring together seventeen
separate branches of the bank on one site (Fig. 5).
3.4 Cucinella and Hines
Mario Cucinella Architects is a relatively young
practice based in Bologna, Italy. They claim to have
an integrated approach to design where sustainability
and low energy design are high on the agenda. They
have designed several sustainable buildings such as
the iGuzzini offices and the City Hall of Bologna.
The Hines office building was the result of an
international competition launched in 2001 to
renovate a former Post Office complex in Milan, Italy.
The team comprised by Cucinella and Arup won the
competition and designed this building that was
handed over in 2004. It is unusual that a speculative
commercial building would have a sustainable
agenda, but the developers Hines were interested in
including some sustainable features such as chilled
beams; a double skin façade to control solar gains
and a climatically sheltered courtyard (Fig. 4).

Figure 5: Nord/LB Headquarters

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PLEA2006 - The 23 Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva, Switzerland, 6-8 September 2006

The sustainable agenda behind the building statement by Williamson, Radford and Bennetts who
focused on energy saving strategies that resulted in declare that since sustainable architecture is a
low CO2 emissions. They included natural ventilation, cultural construction, no checklist could be objective
daylighting and component cooling. The design or complete, because they cannot cope with the
process required extensive use of design-assisting complexities and uniqueness of the design process
tools to inform design-decisions, covering mainly [8]. Guidelines and checklists are inherent to the
daylight analysis, thermal simulations and designer’s values and definitions of sustainable
computational fluid dynamics. architecture and are also tailored by the client’s own
values and expectations.
However, it is important to note that this study
4. THE ROLE OF DESIGN-ASSISTING TOOLS selected recognised experts in the field, so there is
probably not much in off-the-shelf guidelines and
4.1 Non-interactive Tools checklists that the experts do not already know.
Sustainable design guidelines, checklists and
element catalogues might be referred as ‘non- 4.2 Analysis Tools
interactive tools’ because they assist design decisions Analysis tools enable the user to take an active
but they do not allow the user to take an active role in analysing and evaluating design solutions.
approach. While design guidelines take the form of a They can be either computer-based (e.g. building
declaration of intent that establish specific objectives performance simulation programs) or physical tools
and even appropriate solutions (e.g. RIBA Green (e.g. artificial sky). Currently, there are hundreds of
Guide to the Architect’s Job Book) [5]; checklists are simulation programs of different levels of
more practical and intend to structure activities (e.g. sophistication and developed to serve different
BREEAM checklists) [6]; and element catalogues purposes.
provide information to compare different building The evidence gathered in this study suggests that
materials and products (e.g. Green Guide to analysis tools had an important but limited role in
Specification) [7]. integrating sustainability in the design process. They
Despite the fact that there are dozens of were used in some cases to assist design decisions,
sustainable design guides available in books and but in most cases the architects and engineers
manuals, the evidence suggests that they had no role claimed that what actually drove the design process
in the design processes of the case studies. The were knowledge and experience.
sustainable agendas of the projects were developed Interestingly, the role that analysis tools played in
according to the architects’ and client’s definitions of assisting design decisions became more essential in
sustainable architecture and on the different values those cases where there was high-perceived risk.
that they gave to different aspects of sustainability. They were used to predict performance in order to
In case of Downland Gridshell the value of diminish risk. This was the case of the naturally
sustainability was centred on the relationship with ventilated office buildings, such as the National Trust
place and landscape and the agenda was focused on and the Nord/LB that required extensive analysis to
local and sustainable materials. For the National control the perceived risk of overheating. On the
Trust HQ it was centred on low CO2 emissions and other hand, the structural engineers of Downland
the agenda was focused on low energy strategies and Gridshell performed extensive analysis to control the
energy generation. The agendas were not always risk of structural failure. The non-naturally ventilated
evident from the beginning of the design process; buildings (Business School and Hines) required much
rather they were developed in conjunction with the simpler analysis. The evidence suggests that the
project, as a result of the dialogue between the use of design tools is not necessarily inherent to
architects and clients. Sometimes the sustainable every project with a sustainable agenda, but it rather
agendas were not even declared, but they were follows the purpose of controlling a perceived risk.
evident in the process and the result. In all cases, early stages of the process (i.e. the
In the case of the National Trust HQ, the generation of the first idea) were driven by knowledge
architects used the Green Guide to Specification as and experience of both architects and engineers who
an element catalogue to select sustainable materials started working as a team from the beginning of the
and products. The tool was considered to guide one- process, and long before in some cases. Knowledge
line decisions (material specification) rather than as a and experience were embedded in the form of rules
comprehensive design tool. In the same case, the of thumb and building precedents, which were usually
architects in conjunction with the engineers the designers’ own previous projects. Only in the
developed their own checklist that they named ‘the case of Hines building the architects claim that the
matrix of sustainability’. The matrix was the result of process started with a solar analysis with Ecotect,
the design team’s sustainable agenda and it helped to mostly because it was a restoration project where all
guide the clients in setting specific targets for the buildings existed, so the shapes, orientation and
project. It worked as a graphic representation of layout of the buildings was already determined. In all
targets that helped to guide the clients on where to other cases, the ‘tools’ that determined the basic
invest their money. Rather than a design tool, it could shape, orientation and size of the buildings were rules
be considered as a management tool. of thumb and precedents.
It is interesting to note that the only checklist that After the basic layout of the buildings was
played any role in the cases studied was a self-made determined, the designers used some simple tools to
one, rather than an off-the-shelf. This fact proves the refine the design and to decide particular aspects of
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PLEA2006 - The 23 Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva, Switzerland, 6-8 September 2006

the proposal. For the National Trust HQ, the design completion, particularly when there is a
architects used Ecotect to model a portion of the perceived risk involved. Mainly, they need to prove to
building to determine daylight factors, which informed the clients that the building will perform adequately.
aspects such as the orientation of the mezzanines in The case studies put forward the fact that it was
relation to the rooflights. In the case of Downland the engineers who performed most of the analysis,
Gridshell, the architects made physical models and using mainly sophisticated tools. In most cases, the
the engineers made computer models to refine the design team indicated that they prefer to have a clear
shape of the gridshell. In the case of Nord/LB, the demarcation of roles were the architects were leaders
engineers modelled a section of the double glazed of the design team and the engineers had a
façade to determine its depth, size of window supportive role of advice and analysis. This clear
openings and the specification of the glazing. In all demarcation of roles is complemented with close
these case, the tools were used to refine the design collaborative teamwork, based on long standing pre-
after the main ideas were already established. existing professional relationships that are helping to
Table 1 summarises the analysis tools that were guide the design process. The evidence suggests
used in each unit of analysis; indicating at which that the current tendency on the use of tools is based
stage of the design process they were used; which on specialisation (engineers using sophisticated tools)
member of the design team performed the analysis; complemented with effective teamwork, rather than
and the use of the tool. on user-friendliness (architects using simple tools in-
house).
Table 1: Use of Analysis Tools It is important to note that in all cases the
Analysis Tools architects have chosen, as part of the design team,
unit type stage member use
an engineering practice that has an expertise in
Downland physical models OP/SD arch+eng form finding
Gridshell computer models SD engineer form finding and sustainable design, such as Arup, Buro Happold,
dimension of Transsolar and Max Fordham. These engineers have
structure vast experience and skills in the use of analysis tools,
prototypes DD carpenter construction tests which reinforces the tendency on specialisation and
Business Hevacomp DD engineer size of plant
teamwork.
School However, in two cases the architects performed
simple analysis at early stages that informed some
National Ecotect OP architect daylight factors of specific early design decisions. In both cases it was
Trust HQ typical area
dependant on having a young architect in the office
artificial sky SD engineer solar penetration
daylight factors who was able to use Ecotect to perform daylighting
TAS SD engineer thermal simulation analysis. This fact suggests that the tendency could
shift towards non-specialist analysis with user-friendly
Hines Ecotect OP architect solar radiation tools if there are more architects trained in this area.
building and shading
Giacomelli after DS architect winter energy
Nevertheless, it is important to note that daylighting
consumption analysis is more accessible and easy to manipulate
method after DS architect summer energy than thermal or airflow analysis, which could still
Santamouris consumption require the assistance of specialists.
Nord/LB Radiance SD engineer daylight simulation
The management of tools is also probably
TRNSYS SD engineer thermal simulation dependant on the tradition of the architectural practice
FIDAP SD engineer air flow of double of organising interdisciplinary teamwork. While most
skin facades/halls cases seem to adhere to the tradition of a practice of
physical model SD engineer air flow visualisation ‘purely architects’ that are supported by the
TRNSPILE SD engineer size of ground heat
exchanger and specialists, some appear more open to including
component cooling analysis and simulation as part of their job. Younger
Key:
practices that have embraced the sustainability
OP: Outline proposal (RIBA, UK)/ projetto preliminare (Italy) agenda from their early days seem to be more
SD: Scheme design (RIBA, UK)/ design development (Germany) receptive to adjust their design process to latest tools,
after DS: after completion of design stages
including the new generation of generative or
‘intelligent’ tools.
For later stages of the design process, the tools
Interestingly, the evidence also suggests that in
became more sophisticated and were used mostly to
most cases the analysis results were also used to
check the proposals and to make minor refinements.
communicate the sustainable design strategies to the
Generally, engineers consider that this is an
client, funding bodies, competition judges, etc. In a
appropriate way of proceeding, because complex
way, they were used to persuade these bodies to
modelling is very time consuming and early stages of
approve the proposals, undertaking a role of
the design process occur very fast. They also prefer
communication, representation and persuasion that
to perform simulations when there are a limited
complemented their main analytical role. Even more,
number of variables to test, i.e. at late stages of the
in some cases it appears that analytical diagrams
process when the major design decisions have been
have followed the aim of persuading client bodies,
made; rather than having a large number of options,
rather than truly informing design decisions. They
i.e. at early stages. On the other hand, they believe
have helped to show the clients that the project has
that their experience is usually sufficient to ensure
not only embraced sustainability concepts, but the
that the performance of the proposal would satisfy
concepts have also been analysed and evaluated.
their expectations, but they still need to test it after
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PLEA2006 - The 23 Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva, Switzerland, 6-8 September 2006

This strategy helps to present the design process as 5. CONCLUSIONS

a ‘scientific’ process, which can be welcomed by
clients bodies; even if the true nature of the design A case study research approach allowed to cross-
process is not necessarily scientific; i.e. design relate data of different nature that made possible an
decisions have not been made strictly according to understanding of the use of design-assisting tools in
the analysis results, but as a combination of intuition, the integration of sustainability in the design process
creativity, designer’s values, etc. that is rich in detail.
Therefore, while complex and challenging design The evidence suggests that the integration of
proposals require extensive use of design-assisting sustainability at early stages of the design process is
tools to manage risk; simpler low-risk proposals still guided by knowledge and experience in the form of
require the tools to show the clients a ‘scientific precedents; while later stages of the process are
approach’ to the integration of sustainable principles supported by analysis tools; from simple methods to
in the design process. sophisticated tools. The current tendency is that
some architects would use simple tools to perform
4.3 Methods of Environmental Assessment simple analysis, such as daylighting, that would
The methods of environmental assessment can inform minor design decisions. The use of tools at
be classified in two groups: quantitative and later stages of the design process is based on
qualitative methods [9]. The quantitative methods specialisation and effective teamwork, rather than on
use a life cycle approach with quantitative input and user-friendly tools in-house the architectural practice.
output data based on flows of energy and matter (e.g. Sophisticated tools would inform minor decisions and
Envest, EcoQuantum) Qualitative methods are based would generally check and prove design strategies.
on the auditing of buildings, giving a score to different The role of the tools becomes more important in
parameters, where some parameters are quantitative assisting design decisions when there is higher
and others are based on criteria. They are used as perceived risk involved in the project. In low-risks
rating schemes that compare the building against an projects the tools also assume a role of
archetype building (e.g. BREEAM in UK, LEED in communication of sustainable principles and
US). persuasion of client bodies.
Only two cases underwent formal processes of
assessment: Downland Gridshell underwent a life
cycle assessment with Envest and the National Trust ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
had an ‘Excellent’ BREEAM rating. The Business
School and the Hines building used qualitative This paper is a result of a PhD project that has
methods - BREEAM and LEED respectively - as been funded by the Alban Programme of the
checklists when developing the sustainable agendas European Commission and MECESUP-Universidad
of the buildings. del Bío-Bío, Chile.
The information gathered, including the responses
from the interviews, indicate that the methods had a
limited role in the design process. When they were REFERENCES
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[3] R. Yin, Case Study Research: design and
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