Architects Requirements of Decision Support Tools to deliver Low Impact Housing Design in the UK: Insights and Recommendations

Abstract

The construction industry is facing increasing pressure to address environmental performance earlier in the design process. For United Kingdom (UK) buildings, design is perceived to be the key in delivering the low carbon agenda. Hence, a fundamental change to designers’ approach in designing for low impact buildings is needed.

A mixed method approach comprising of questionnaires to sustainable architectural practices were combined with interviews of architects in practice and academia. This is necessary to identify the gaps in the current use of Building Performance Energy Simulation (BPES) tools as design- decision support for architects, towards recommending the requirements of new generation architects’ friendly tools for the early and detail stages of the design process to deliver the sustainable housing design in the UK.

The results indicate a limited number of architects use BPES tools; that is, until the later stage of the design process. Moreover, there is need to focus on tool development for architects decision-making process, especially at the conceptual stage, where major decision are taken. Thus, the study focuses on recommending requirements of architects’ friendly tools, fit for their design-decision making at various stages of the design process. As architectural design decisions vary significantly in terms of accuracy, flexibility, and the level of detail, the study recommends that: at the early stages of the process, where relatively minimal information is available, flexibility and approximation in BPES tools is more approximate to support design decisions. Nevertheless, as the design develops, and more information becomes available, precision and higher levels of detail in BPES tools are required.

Keywords: Building Performance Energy Simulation Tools, Decision Making, Low Impact Buildings, Royal Institute of British Architects, Sustainability.