Achieving BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) certification is a universally acknowledged method for building owners and developers to illustrate their dedication to these values. Sustainability as well as environmental effectiveness is factors that are becoming more and more crucial in the construction sector. By comparing buildings to a variety of performance standards, the BREEAM environmental evaluation process and grading system seek to increase a building’s environmentally friendly and sustainable performance. Speaking of BREEAM you should know that in the UK, a technique called the BREEAM HEA 06 Assessment UK is employed to measure the well-being and satisfaction of building occupants.
How Does BREEAM Certification Work? What Is It?
Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, or BREEAM, is a widely used environmental evaluation tool and building grading system. By comparing structures to performance standards, it seeks to increase their environmentally friendly and sustainable performance. To become certified, a building’s design, structure, and use must be evaluated against certain performance standards and given a performance score.
Energy consumption, water efficiency, materials, trash, pollution, transport, and healthcare and well-being are some of the areas covered by the examination. The evaluation process starts during the design phase when a BREEAM assessor collaborates with the building’s developers and architects to examine the environmental condition of the building and pinpoint areas for improvement.
Building Research Establishment
Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) is a generally accepted benchmark for evaluating a building’s sustainability impact. Any construction project that receives a BREEAM accreditation has done something noteworthy. Yet, the BREEAM requirements are getting stricter, which would be difficult for architects and developers to meet. We shall talk about several cutting-edge approaches to meeting BREEAM criteria in this article.
Rooftop Plants
Urban regions are seeing a rise in the use of green roofs, which may additionally aid in meeting BREEAM requirements. Plants are grown on roof surfaces to create “green roofs,” with the potential to improve air quality and have some positive environmental effects. With the absorption of rain and the reduction of runoff, green roofs could also aid in the management of rainwater. The design may receive BREEAM points for biodiversity and watershed management by including a green roof.
Alternative Energy
Integrating renewable energy into the building design is among the most important approaches to meeting BREEAM criteria. The carbon footprint and energy usage of the building could be decreased with the use of renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and geothermal energy. Using renewable energy sources may result in BREEAM points for innovation, pollution reduction, and energy.
Conservation of Water
Water conservation is a crucial component of sustainable architectural design and therefore can aid in meeting BREEAM requirements. There are many strategies to save water, including using low-flow faucets, collecting rainfall, and recycling grey water. Utilizing rainwater for non-potable uses including irrigation, cooling systems, and washing toilets is known as rainwater harvesting. Greywater recycling entails cleaning and repurposing wastewater for industrial and commercial uses. Including water management strategies can result in BREEAM water credits.
Modelling Of Building Information (BIM)
Building information modelling (BIM) is a digital depiction of a building’s structural as well as operational elements. BIM software enables cross-disciplinary collaboration and information sharing between architects, engineers, and construction sector specialists. By simplifying the incorporation of sustainability issues into the design phase, BIM can assist in meeting BREEAM criteria.
BIM may be utilized, for instance, to choose sustainable materials, including renewable energy systems, and improve the orientation of buildings. BIM may be employed to model the building’s energy efficiency and pinpoint problem areas.
Sustainable Resources
Utilizing sustainable materials is a crucial component of designing sustainable buildings and therefore can aid in meeting BREEAM requirements. Sustainable supplies are accessible locally and are eco-friendly. To lessen the building’s carbon footprint, materials like bamboo, cork, and recycled steel could be employed in its construction. BREEAM credits for trash and materials could be obtained by using sustainable resources.
Designing Using Passive Features
By maximising the building’s orientation, envelope, and internal spaces, passive design strategies seek to reduce the energy needs of the structure. Utilizing high-performance insulation and glazing, designing for thermal comfort, and optimising the building’s orientation to maximise solar gain and air circulation are all examples of passive design principles. By lowering the building’s energy use and carbon footprint, passive design techniques can aid in meeting BREEAM criteria.
Which BREEAM Certification Levels Are There?
BREEAM-certified buildings are assigned one of the following ratings after being evaluated by a third party: acceptable, pass, good, very good, excellent, & outstanding.
Conclusion
Obtaining one of the BREEAM certification levels would undoubtedly provide a real estate development plan with several advantageous advantages. While obtaining an exceptional score is challenging and demands major sustainability initiatives, it is possible to do so by using BREEAM from the start and properly organizing each stage.
