Environmental Design: An Introduction for Architects and Engineers

289 Pages·2006·3.14 MB·English

Environmental Design
Written and edited by a team of specialists at Max Fordham LLP, one of the UK’s
leading environmental and building services engineering consultancies, Environmental
Design is the result of their extensive experience in designing environmentally friendly
buildings. The principles of their approach, which they have taught in numerous
schools of architecture and engineering, are clearly presented here. This book is
essential reading for architects, engineers, planners and students of these disciplines
and for all those who are concerned with our built environment.
The book starts with some basic scientific principles and issues of air quality, noise
and climate change and then moves on to site planning, energy use, materials and
building form. Natural ventilation systems, high-efficiency mechanical equipment
and alternative energy sources are covered. State-of-the-art buildings of exceptional
quality are incorporated throughout the text and illustrate the authors’ belief that
environmentally responsible architecture can be visually exciting. This extensively
updated third edition concludes with a selection of detailed case studies of award-
winning projects – including, for the first time, Beaufort Court, King’s Langley and
Heelis, central office for the National Trust, Swindon.
Randall Thomas has been active in practice and teaching for over thirty years. He
is visiting Professor of Sustainable and Environmental Design at Kingston University,
UK, and has been a Partner of Max Fordham LLP since 1987.

Environmental Design
An introduction for architects and engineers
Third edition
Edited by
Randall Thomas
Max Fordham LLP
First published 1996 by E & FN Spon
This edition published by Taylor and Francis
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Taylor & Francis Inc
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Taylor & Francis is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 1996, 1999, 2006 Randall Thomas, selection and editorial matter;
individual chapters, the contributors
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the advice and information in
this book is true and accurate at the time of going to press. However,
neither the publisher nor the authors can accept any legal responsibility
or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. In the case of
drug administration, any medical procedure or the use of technical
equipment mentioned within this book, you are strongly advised to
consult the manufacturer’s guidelines.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Environmental design : an introduction for architects and engineers /
edited by Randall Thomas.—3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–415–36330–0 (alk. paper)—ISBN 0–415–36334–9 (pbk. :
alk, paper)—ISBN 0–203–01366–2 (e-book)
1. Architecture—Environmental aspects. 2. Environmental engineering.
3. City planning. 4. Engineering design. I. Thomas, Randall.
NA2542.35.E575 2005
720′.47—dc22 2005049928
ISBN10: 0–415–36333–0 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–415–36334–9 (pbk)
ISBN13: 9–78–0–415–36333–0 (hbk)
ISBN13: 9–78–0–415–36334–9 (pbk)
CONTENTS
Contributors vii
Foreword by Edward Cullinan ix
Preface by Max Fordham xi
Apologies and acknowledgments xiii
Units and abbreviations xv
Part One 1
1 Strategies 3
MAX FORDHAM
2 Comfort, health and environmental physics 7
BILL WATTS
3 Buildings and energy balances 29
BILL WATTS AND RANDALL THOMAS
4 Building planning and design 37
RANDALL THOMAS
5 Site planning 54
RANDALL THOMAS
6 Materials and construction 67
RANDALL THOMAS
7 Energy sources 81
RAMIRO GODOY
8 Lighting 96
RANDALL THOMAS
9 Engineering thermal comfort 110
RANDALL THOMAS
10 Water, waste disposal and appliances 145
MIKE ENTWISLE, RANDALL THOMAS AND ADAM RITCHIE
Summary 153
RANDALL THOMAS
Part Two 155
11 RMC International Headquarters 157
BART STEVENS
12 Queens Building, De Montfort University 165
EDITH BLENNERHASSETT
13 The Charles Cryer Studio Theatre 183
COLIN HAMILTON
vi CONTENTS
14 The Environmental Building, Building Research Establishment 190
RANDALL THOMAS AND BART STEVENS
15 The Millennium Centre, Dagenham 211
RANDALL THOMAS
16 The Bedales Theatre 217
RANDALL THOMAS
17 Beaufort Court 222
TAMSIN TWEDDELL
18 Heelis, Central Office for the National Trust 231
GUY NEVILL
Appendices 239
A Environmental data and the psychrometric chart 241
RANDALL THOMAS
B Calculation Procedures 249
RANDALL THOMAS
C Acoustics 253
RANDALL THOMAS AND ANTHONY CHILTON
D Photovoltaics 255
RANDALL THOMAS AND LORNA MARKHAM
Illustration acknowledgements 262
Index 265
CONTRIBUTORS
Edith E. Blennerhassett, BE, MIEI, Former Partner, Max Fordham Associates
Anthony Chilton, MA, D Phil
Mike Entwisle, MA, PhD, Former Partner, Max Fordham & Partners
Max Fordham, OBE, MA, FEng, FCIBSE, MConsE, Hon FRIBA, Visiting
Professor in Building Environmental Design, University of Bath, Partner, Max
Fordham LLP
Ramiro Godoy, MSc, DipIng, CEng, MCIBSE, Partner, Max Fordham LLP
Colin Hamilton, BSc, Partner, Max Fordham LLP
Lorna Markham, MEng
Guy Nevill, MEng, Partner, Max Fordham LLP
Adam Ritchie, BSc, CPhys, MInstP, Partner, Max Fordham LLP
Bart Stevens, BSc, CEng, FCIBSE, FEI, Partner, Max Fordham LLP
Randall Thomas, PhD, EurIng, CEng, FCIBSE, FConsE, MASHRAE, Visiting
Professor in Architectural Science, Kingston University, Partner, Max Fordham LLP
Tamsin Tweddell, MA, MSc, CPhys, MInstP, Partner, Max Fordham LLP
Bill Watts, BA, MSc, CEng, FCIBSE, Partner, Max Fordham LLP

FOREWORD
This book was first published ten years ago and I provided a foreword then. In the
intervening years, during which environmental design has more and more been seen
as sustainable design (for good earth preserving reasons), two things have happened.
Most buildings have more or less reluctantly taken on board ever increasing legal
requirements for greater insulation (heat and sound), reduced glazing, improved
orientation, the use of less wasteful materials and more natural ventilation; while all
these things are not seen as having any implications for the architectural language that
is used. This is the eternal no change school of behaviour.
But a minority have struggled to find a new or revised architectural expression to
allow for sustainable environmental conditions. Architects, engineers and designers
have searched for a new aesthetic for such things as solar shading, load bearing
masonry, green wood building, natural (chimney effect) ventilation, wind and photo-
voltaic power generation, passive solar gain, and so on.
For it is hard to see how such considerations might be incorporated without a
change in the way that we think about architecture. It is hard to see how to make that
change without thinking about the composition of architecture in a more expressive
way than is common today. If we are to make this move towards responsive expres-
sionism we will need all the help we can get from clear thinking, cool headed
environmental designers. It is here that this book Environmental Design has a most
important part to play. It is clear, logical, well illustrated and good to read; and it has
the great quality of all profound work – it is easy to understand. Now let us use it to
help us with our architecture.
Edward Cullinan
January 2005