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A handbook on sustainability in the built environment

18 February 2009

Links:

'A Handbook of Sustainable Building Design and Engineering' earthscan.co.uk/?tabid=34065" target="_self">'A Handbook of Sustainable Building Design and Engineering' 
  • Dejan Mumovic
  • Complex Built Environment Systems
  • UCL Bartlett School of Graduate Studies
  • How will the built environment respond to global warming? What practical knowledge needs to be implemented to maintain our ways of living? How should future buildings accommodate social needs, in light of changing ecosystems? 

    These questions are at the core of 'A Handbook of Sustainable Building Design and Engineering', edited by Dejan Mumovic (UCL Bartlett School of Graduate Studies) and Mat Santamouris (Visiting Professor, UCL Bartlett School of Graduate Studies). It is a groundbreaking contribution to the study and practice of sustainable building design and engineering, with 11 contributions from UCL staff. 

    Divided into thematic sections, the articles address the combined challenges of health, comfort, climate change and energy security to the built environment. These are socially and politically relevant issues: the European Union has committed to the provision of 'zero carbon' buildings in the foreseeable future. Sustainability, however, is further interrelated with health and wellbeing, adaptability to climate change and the evaluation of building design once they have been occupied. Contributors to the handbook respond to these questions of sustainability by offering practical guidance through international case studies.

    The handbook covers:

    • how to design, engineer and monitor a building in a manner that minimises the emissions of greenhouse gases
    • how to adapt the environment, fabric and services of existing and new buildings to climate change
    • how to improve the environment in and around buildings to provide better health, comfort, security and productivity.

    A sustainable building

    In addition, the authors of the study provide crucial expertise on monitoring the performance of buildings post-occupation.

    Implicit in the ethos of the handbook is the practice of sharing knowledge and methods across traditional disciplines and professional routes. This is an indication of how future generations of professionals will work to meet global challenges. The depth and variety of the contributions also meets various syllabus requirements of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in building services engineering, architecture and facility management.

    'A Handbook of Sustainable Building Design and Engineering' was published in January 2009 (London, Earthscan: 2009, 474 pp.; ISBN 978-1-84-407596-6).

    For more information, follow the links at the top of the page.

    Image: National Assembly for Wales