RIAI Guide: Sustainable Design Pathways

By Sarah O'Dwyer MRIAI, Chair of the RIAI Sustainability Task Force

It has been estimated that current global emission levels for buildings are almost 40% of energy related carbon with operational emissions at almost 30% and just over 10% from materials and construction. These figures demonstrate the need for all built environmental professionals to have sustainability at the core of how they think, plan and operate.

The “RIAI Guide: Sustainable Design Pathways” (Pathways) has been prepared to assist architects, and indeed all design team members, to adopt sustainable design principles in their projects and practice. It is a continuation of the RIAI Sustainability policy, updated in 2019, and will be followed by the ‘RIAI 2030 Climate Challenge’ document later in 2021 - which will give more detail on the target metrics referred to in Pathways.

As the RIAI Sustainability policy set both goals and a call to action in 2019, Pathways is intended to show how that action can be implemented and to offer supports for implementation, which can be the most challenging aspect.

For Architects who need to upskill and make the sustainability step change that is required, the volume of information available can be overwhelming. To assist and support this process, Pathways is provided as a compact guide to balance the volume of information available with a concise summary of the key issues and themes, associated metrics and where in the design process these themes must be considered.

The themes covered include Design choices, Design Performance Objectives, Procurement, Construction, Validation of Design Objectives and Handover and Post Occupancy Evaluation. These themes are also mapped and presented as related to the design process workstages.

A design aid checklist (available as both a paper and a downloadable excel spreadsheet) is included in the Pathways guide s. This is a flexible and valuable tool which can be used in many ways:

• as a design prompt (particularly useful for those new to this subject area),
• as a skills gap self-audit to identify areas requiring upskilling through CPD,
• as an audit trail for each project, and
• as a brief setting aid for design teams – particularly integrated ones - to set particular sustainability goals and monitor them. Projects are framed with sustainability goals at the core from the outset, which will help deliver sustainability outcomes.

To have as flexible a use as possible, the design aid purposively has no weightings; it recognises that different projects will have different emphases.

Finally, often the difficulty is knowing what specific steps to take. Pathways proposes 10 sustainable pathways architects need to commit to and lead on in design teams to ensure sustainable design is embedded in all design projects. These are practical steps everyone can take from today. We have the theory and the information now on what we need to do, as architects and construction professionals, to help tackle the current climate emergency. The RIAI, through the Pathways Guide aims to support both the operational and cultural change needed in the construction industry to get to where we need by 2030 and beyond.