EEEN60422 - Zero carbon Built Infrastructure

LECTURER:
Rodger Edwards ( School of MACE)
Section 3.01:Design Process
 In this section

We consider the basic ideas behind

the building services design
processes
 Context

Ultimately, buildings are engineering artefacts

( although some architects might argue that
they are artistic creations)
Sagrada Familia, Barcelona -
Engineering or Architecture?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sagrada_Familia_01.jpg
 Context

This means that the design and construction of

buildings entails the same essential steps as
the production of any other engineering
artefact.
 Context

o Clients needs
o Specification
o Design ( with iterations and modifications)
o Project planning
o Construction
o Commissioning
o Demolition ( end of service life)
 Context
Design and construction of buildings differs from other
engineering activities because:

o Often a building is a “one shot” activity – there is

little scope for mass production , except for such
buildings as fast food outlets, warehouses and
filling stations

o Prototyping and iterative improvement is unlikely-it’s

viewed as risky
 Context

The design and construction process in the UK is

usually split up between a number of distinct
professions

The professions with most influence in the

design stage are arguably the architects and the
design consultancies
 Context
There is another approach known as Design and
Build. A Single entity ( usually a building firm)
takes responsibility for all activities .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design%E2%80%
93build

The merits of design and build continue to be

debated
 Context

Most construction projects are planned and

executed using the Royal Institute of British
Architects (RIBA) plan of work:
http://www.ribaplanofwork.com/
(pdf downloadable)
 Context

Construction projects are of sufficient duration

for clients needs or wishes to change

Contractors will try to meet these changes, as

they provide a means of making extra charges to
the client ( “variations” )
 Context

This splitting up makes co-operation difficult and

raises the risk of failures

Successive UK Governments have tried to

address the underlying issues for over 20
years.

There has been little improvement

 Context

Success or failure of a construction project can

be judged by a number of criteria:

o Actual performance and quality compared to

specification
o Delivery within cost constraints
o Delivery within time constraints
 Context
From our point of view, “success” in design can
be defined as delivery of

o Energy perfomance
o Occupant comfort

as required by legislation and recognised good

practice
 Context

This is challenging, but in some respects

modern energy legislation provides some level
of failure mitigation, as there are certain things
that you simply aren’t allowed to provide just
because a client wants them

A good example would be excessive glazing.

 Design objectives

What we will learn in the rest of this section is

how to ensure that we can match the
heating /cooling requirements within a
proposed building with an appropriate heating
/ cooling strategy, whilst minimising energy
demand.
 Design objectives

In order to be able to do this, we need to have a

set of simple calculation methods (“tools”) at
our disposal.
 In the next section…

We will look at the basic concepts of heat

transfer