Cutting Carbon while Saving Costs

Down in the Kent countryside our new build family home for private clients has been on site for best part of a year. It’s extremely exciting to see the main volume of the space created through the erection of a sizeable steel frame structure. Working closely with our engineer friends at SD Engineers we chose for a steel frame solution due to the ability to create the large open vaulted spaces and a huge picture window for large panel sliding doors. The design seeks to create a highly crafted contemporary Architectural design, but one which appears to be a black timber clad barn structure in a landscape dominated by similar functional agricultural structures. The structural engineering design was key to creating the large open volumes without the core structure being on display. Thus all the hard working columns and beams needed to be hidden within wall and roof spaces, standing back from the architectural cladding and glazing.?

As with most projects of this nature the scheme went through the inevitable round of value engineering mid way through the tender process in order to deliver on the clients’ budget aspirations. As part of this process it was suggested that by using bigger, but lighter gauge steel members across the frame we could achieve notable cost savings. This required a great deal of detail re-design in order to continue to allow the larger steel members to remain hidden within the envelope whilst still maintaining levels of insulation and for the internal and external appearance to remain unchanged. Whilst a slight increase in external wall depth did result, largely across the scheme this change was unnoticeable, and the large cost reduction was achieved.

What we didn’t at first anticipate was the level of reduction in embodied carbon that this adjustment generated. Working with data from their 3D models in conjunction with the IStructE Structural Carbon tools SD Structures were able to analyse the embodied carbon of our pretender structure with the resultant bigger, but lighter steel members indicating the material sustainability effect. The construction stage scheme reduced carbon by 26 tonnes from the original tender design. This equated to the equivalent of 8 average family cars running for a year, just by adjusting the gauge of steelwork!?

The project has been a reminder to us that designing a sustainable building is not only achieved through the simple obvious measures such as orientation, energy source, daylight & overshadowing, insulation etc. We can achieve improved results if we look closely and work hard on every element of detail design within a building, and this doesn’t need to detrimentally affect the Architectural design if carefully considered.

It of course helps if you have a smart committed consultant team working together to improve quality, cost and sustainability credentials at every stage! If you do, making a more sustainable building, whilst reducing costs is achievable.

Many thanks to Dimitrios Baltzopoulos of SD Engineers for the structural design, and post design data analysis included here.

Mailen Design is an Architectural Practice based in London & Oxfordshire. We are intelligent, rigorous designers who create inspirational environments that are well crafted and joyful.

"Humble and creative Architects with a passion for craftsmanship"

The Modern House