21 September 2018

Benefits of Green Buildings: part 3 – social benefits

As World Green Building Week 2018 approaches (24 - 30 Sep), we thought we’d share some of the most recent research on the social benefits of green buildings. This post is part of a series which will explain why we should all be aiming to ‘green’ our buildings, and furthermore, why we should be pushing government policy in this direction too.

It’s not just the planet that will benefit from going green, there are economic and social benefits of green buildings as well as the more obvious environmental benefits. In fact, when discussing the benefits of green buildings, they are often broken down into the following three categories: environmental, economic and social. It’s for this reason that some people refer to these buildings as ‘healthy buildings’ as well as green buildings. This post will focus on the social benefits.

According to the World Green Building Council: “[green buildings] provide some of the most effective means to achieving a range of global goals, such as addressing climate change, creating sustainable and thriving communities, and driving economic growth.

First of all, we should define what we mean by green buildings. Green buildings have been built from a sustainable design, also known as eco design. This means all facets of the design process takes into consideration the impact the building will have, both in construction and use. The World Green Building Council defines green buildings as "a building that, in its design, construction or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts, and can create positive impacts, on our climate and natural environment. Green buildings preserve precious natural resources and improve our quality of life."

Lets look at the social benefits of green buildings.


According to a growing body of research, the most important social benefits of green buildings are the enhanced health and wellbeing of those living and working in them.

Working or studying in green buildings

social benefits of green buildings, benefits of green buildings, koru architects, eco architect, sustainable architect, green architect, sustainable design, eco design, brighton, green design, green buildings,

Koru Architects' office - we work in a green passivhaus building with plenty of daylight.

A 2016 study by the Harvard School of Public Health and the State University of New York Upstate Medical University (backed by United Technologies) found that those working in green-certified buildings had 26% higher cognitive function test scores than those in similarly high-performing buildings that were not green-certified.

Interestingly, the effects lasted after they had left work: employees working in green buildings had a 6% higher sleep quality compared with those working in high-performing buildings that were not green-certified.

In the same study, those working in green buildings also reported 30% fewer symptoms of ‘sick building syndrome’ – a condition typically marked by headaches and respiratory problems, attributed to unhealthy or stressful factors in an office working environment, such as poor ventilation. The same team is currently undertaking a three-year study to further gather data on the impact of green buildings on cognitive function.

Backing up the sleep quality statistic above, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2013 found employees in offices with windows slept an average of 46 minutes more per night.

We strongly believe in biophilic design and healthy school buildings, as detailed in this post. Summarising recent research, a report by Human Spaces states: “optimising exposure to daylight alone can improve school attendance by an average of 3.5 days/year and test scores by 5-14% while increasing the speed of learning by 20-26%. Trials have found that plants in classrooms can lead to improved performance in spelling, mathematics and science of 10-14%.”

Living in green buildings

Brits spend 92% of their time indoors, so healthy buildings are important. A RIBA report explains how poor design can lead to poor health: "The Building Research Establishment reported in 2010 that almost a quarter (4.8 million) of homes in England contain defects that can give rise to Category 1 hazards – hazards that can lead to serious health risks such as cardio-respiratory disease, stroke, asthma and even death caused by falls, excess cold and other events."

Estimates put the cost to the NHS of these hazards at £600 million per year, and the cost to individuals and society from loss of earnings, for example, at £1.5 billion per year.

That's a lot of avoidable illness, plus a big saving to the NHS purely from improving building standards.

And while it might seem intuitive that being in nature would have a calming influence, a 2014 study researching Japanese ‘forest bathing’ revealed these calming effects can be replicated with indoor stimulations of a natural environment – the subjects’ blood pressure and pulse rate decreased, inducing a physiological relaxation effect.

It's more important than ever that we recognise the clear environmental, economic and social benefits of green buildings, especially since the government axed the zero carbon homes policy in 2015. So, if you are thinking of refurbing or building a property, make sure you engage a green architect for a sustainable design that's good for you, your pocket and the planet.


This post is part three in a series. 

12 September 2018

Benefits of Green Buildings: part one – environmental benefits

koru architects, eco architect, sustainable architect, green architect, sustainable design, eco design, brighton, green design, green buildings, healthy buildings, environmental benefits of green buildings, economic benefits of green buildings, social benefits of green buildingsAs World Green Building Week 2018 approaches (24 - 30 Sep), we thought we’d share some of the most recent research on the environmental benefits of green buildings. This post is part of a series which will explain why we should all be aiming to ‘green’ our buildings, and furthermore, why we should be pushing government policy in this direction too.

It’s not just the planet that will benefit from going green, there are social and economic benefits of green buildings as well as the more obvious environmental benefits. In fact, when discussing the benefits of green buildings, they are often broken down into the following three categories: environmental, economic and social. It’s for this reason that some people refer to these buildings as ‘healthy buildings’ as well as green buildings. This post will focus on the environmental benefits of green buildings.

According to the World Green Building Council: “[green buildings] provide some of the most effective means to achieving a range of global goals, such as addressing climate change, creating sustainable and thriving communities, and driving economic growth.

First of all, we should define what we mean by green buildings. Green buildings have been built from a sustainable design, also known as eco design. This means all facets of the design process takes into consideration the impact the building will have, both in construction and use. The World Green Building Council defines green buildings as "a building that, in its design, construction or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts, and can create positive impacts, on our climate and natural environment. Green buildings preserve precious natural resources and improve our quality of life."

Lets look at the environmental benefits of green buildings.


One of the most obvious impacts of making our buildings green is the environmental benefit. We've mentioned before that building and the construction industry accounts for 30% of global carbon emissions (and recent research is pushing that figure to closer to 40%) which means the building sector has the largest potential for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to other major emitting sectors (UNEP, 2009).

In fact, the emission saving potential of green buildings is thought to be as much as 84 gigatonnes of CO2 by 2050 (UNEP, 2016) which would happen through direct measures in buildings such as energy efficiency, fuel switching and the use of renewable energy.

According to Citu, the average house takes between 50 and 80 tonnes of CO2 to build and emits 2.7 tonnes of CO2 every year just from heating alone. But this can be improved – encouraging statistics from Australia show green-certified buildings produce 62% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than average Australian buildings.

koru architects, eco architect, sustainable architect, green architect, sustainable design, eco design, brighton, green design, green buildings, healthy buildings, environmental benefits of green buildings, economic benefits of green buildings, social benefits of green buildings

Here at Koru, we know how to build green homes: our office and director Mark's home (left) is a great example.

Due to creative use of passive solar design, high insulation and energy-efficient appliances and lighting, the building only consumes around half the energy of a typical UK household and does not produce any direct carbon emissions in use.

Moreover, during construction steps were taken to minimise the embodied carbon from its construction by specifying sustainably-sourced timber.

According to the carbon analysis company Phlorum, the embodied carbon of the building was 17 tonnes, compared with a national average of 60 tonnes.

Through its generation of clean, renewable energy (solar PV panels) it is expected to offset 41 tonnes of carbon over its life and it will only take 23 years for the house’s whole lifecycle to be carbon-neutral.

As you can see from the above evidence, the environmental benefits of green buildings are huge, and by building healthy buildings we have the potential to vastly reduce carbon emissions, both in construction and in operation.

You don't need a zero carbon home to make a difference, even small changes can yield big results. So, if you're thinking of renovating, rebuilding or extending, bear in mind that investing in a green home will massively reduce your carbon footprint. The planet will thank you!


This post is part one in a series. 

  • Benefits of Green Buildings: part one – environmental
  • Benefits of Green Buildings: part two – economic
  • Benefits of Green Buildings: part three – social

14 August 2018

The Argus, 14 August 2018

'Eco start up wins top awards for green idea' - 14 August 2018

Brighton & Hove's daily paper, The Argus, featured Koru-designed PassivPod in their business section. The article details PassivPod's double win at the National Best New Business Awards. The online version described our PassivPod design as an "amazing green pod".

Read online here.

The Argus, PassivPod, Koru Architects, Eco Architects, Brighton, Best New Business Awards, Award-Winning Architect, Hove


Keep up to date with PassivPod on Twitter @PassivPod and on the website: www.passivpod.co.uk

14 August 2018

Hove Park Living magazine, August 2018 issue

'New cafe for Hove Park' – August 2018

Hove Park Living, a free monthly magazine for residents of the Hove Park area, wrote about the plans for a new cafe at Hove Park, featuring Koru's design for the cafe.
Hove Park Cafe, Pavilion Tea House, Hove Park, Koru Architects, Eco Architects, Sustainable Architect, Brighton

Pick up your copy from selected distributors throughout August.

2 July 2018

2.7.18 – PassivPod wins Construction Business of the Year 2018

We're thrilled to announce that Koru-designed PassivPod won Construction Business of the Year at the National Best New Business Awards 2018!

Construction Business of the Year, PassivPod, Koru Architects, National Best New Business Awards,

The National Best New Business Awards supports industrious, hardworking and enterprising small and medium enterprises nationally.

PassivPod directors Clive and Mark attended the awards ceremony in London on 29 June and were delighted to receive the coveted title of Construction Business of the Year.

But the accolades didn't end there. PassivPod also won the prestigious Overall Winner award, beating competition from all other industries – and 68 other new businesses – represented at the ceremony.

Commercial Director of PassivPod, Clive Bonny, said: “The construction industry needs much more focus on sustainability and environmental protection, and this national award supports our mission."

He added: “The award also ensures awareness of our offer to sell shares in our business to the public via crowdfunding, to encourage wider ownership of healthy zero carbon homes.”

The two awards will join PassivPod's ever-growing trophy cabinet alongside its recent Innovation in Sustainable Accommodation award from the 2017/2018 Corporate LiveWire Technology Awards.

PassivPod’s Technical Director (and Director of Koru Architects) Mark Pellant said: “We’re delighted to have won Construction Business of the Year and are especially proud to win such a highly competitive title as Overall Winner of the best new business nationally.

“Having worked as an architect specialising in sustainable design for the past two decades, it’s very encouraging to see the growing interest in sustainable construction and awareness of the problems associated with traditional construction practices.

“With three national awards under our belt in the last six months, we’re very positive about PassivPod’s continued success and excited for what the rest of 2018 brings.”

One of PassivPod's unique characteristics is its organic, ellipsoid form, reflecting natural shapes. Growing evidence shows spending time in nature has positive psychological and physiological effects and these effects can be recreated in indoor environments which are rich in nature and nature-inspired features. Known as ‘biophilic’ design, PassivPod encapsulates these principles while retaining a high-end design aesthetic.

The team will shortly be launching a crowdfunding campaign to fund the construction of a PassivPod showroom which will also be used as an educational tool to demonstrate eco design and a sustainable lifestyle. Details of how to invest are at www.passivpod.co.uk

PassivPod is a joint venture by Koru Architects and Strategic Management Partners centred on zero-carbon, pod-shaped, comfortable accommodation with an environmental conscience. PassivPod has several applications – as a luxury eco-lodge, a school classroom, garden office or as a home.

Beyond the primary goal of designing high-quality incarnations of the PassivPod design and executing their production, PassivPod feeds into its founders’ wider vision for a sustainable society. PassivPod's team understands that housing, leisure and education (among other sectors) need to drastically change course in order to provide a high quality of life within the planet’s limits.


Connect with PassivPod on Twitter at @PassivPod

25 June 2018

18.6.18 – Galloway Activity Centre plans for world’s first PassivPod

Some exciting news from our PassivPod project! Hear from Richard Hermon, Director of Galloway Activity Centre, about why he plans to build the world's first PassivPod on the shores of the beautiful Loch Ken in Dumfries and Galloway.

Richard and his team are in the process of applying for planning permission for our luxury off-grid PassivPod which will fit in perfectly with Galloway Activity Centre's three off-grid eco-lodges, known as Loch Ken Eco Bothies.

Richard said: "We see PassivPod as a unique offering which meets our high quality standards and we endorse its biophilic properties and zero-carbon design standards. We believe it will encourage people to broaden their experience and knowledge of renewables and boost tourism in our rural economy."

With its biophilic design, PassivPod will provide a healthy and comfortable living environment in all seasons. The ellipsoid shape enables maximum living space in a stable, solid and attractive building.

The glazing orientation allows low-level winter sun to penetrate while excluding the intense summer sun. Both east and west windows are shaded by external louvres keeping the building a comfortable temperature throughout the summer. And a wood burning stove provides cosy, supplementary heat in the winter months if needed.

A roof-lit central stairwell acts as the ‘heart and lungs’ of the PassivPod, bringing daylight down to the entrance area and providing ventilation. The ground floor living space is open-plan, loosely divided by furniture to promote sociability while complementing an outdoor lifestyle and embracing nature and wildlife.

Regarding energy consumption, a rainwater harvesting tank supplies water and the hybrid solar roof generates power.

As an ecologically-sensitive development which generates all its own energy, PassivPod is perfect for remote natural locations, such as the banks of Loch Ken, blending perfectly into the natural landscape and without disrupting the natural beauty of the site.

PassivPod at Galloway Activity Centre will be a rejuvenating haven you will not want to leave.


Interested in a PassivPod of your own? Don't hesitate to contact us for more details or visit www.passivpod.co.uk

2 March 2017

‘Building Places That Work For Everyone’ Report Launch

Issi Rousseva with Julie Hirigoyen: building places that work for everyone

Issi Rousseva with Julie Hirigoyen, CEO of UKGBC

With the right combination of industry expertise, community engagement and a clear steer from government, we can build places that work for everyone.

That's the headline message of the UK Green Building Council's new report: Building Places That Work For Everyone. Koru's architect Issi Rousseva attended the policy paper launch on 28th February 2017 at the Houses of Parliament. The launch event was chaired by Julie Hirigoyen, CEO of the UK Green Building Council, and also included talks by industry leaders and politicians George Freeman MP, Stephen Kinnock MP and James Heappey MP.

Issi particularly enjoyed the talk by Dan Labbad, CEO of Lendlease, a global property and infrastructure company. Dan spoke about how to be successful, sustainability must be right at the core of business operations - never an after-thought simply to tick boxes. Issi also enjoyed speaking with Mark Harper MP about the potential of the circular economy, and she was interested to note that many of the delegates were relatively new to sustainability but were determined to make a difference in their own businesses and organisations. This is a welcome change from the tendency of green events to be full of experts and long-time enthusiasts 'preaching to the choir'. This highlights the fantastic outreach and engagement work the UK Green Building Council have been doing.

The report covers how sustainable building can contribute to key government priorities around homes, energy, industry, jobs and social wellbeing. It also contains best-in-class example projects, insights from industry leaders, key statistics and practical policy recommendations. Koru Architects supports their recommendations and we hope to see the government using this paper to inform more effective policymaking.

  • Read the full Building Places That Work For Everyone report here

24 February 2017

Green Growth Platform Conference 2017

Green Growth Platform Conference 2017

Mark (right) and Clive (left) at Green Growth Platform Conference 2017

The Green Growth Platform aims to help grow the Sussex green economy by providing training, events, specialist knowledge transfer and more. The centrepiece of their annual event calendar is the Green Growth Conference.

Koru director Mark Pellant attended the Green Growth Platform Conference 2017 on 23rd February, along with our business advisor Clive Bonny (who is also Commercial Director of our sister company PassivPod). The day was jam-packed with talks and workshop sessions, with business networking over a lunch provided by local zero-waste restaurant Silo.

Mark says the best parts of the day for him were the talk by Mike Barry, leader of Plan A, the sustainability programme of M&S, and the workshops on gamification and business purpose. The key takeaways were that businesses achieve the most on sustainability when they set ambitious stretch targets and collaborate with similar businesses (as M&S are doing), that people naturally enjoy challenges so gamification leads to higher engagement, and purposeful businesses are increasingly outcompeting companies that lack a clear and compelling purpose. The Teslas will beat the VWs in the economy of the future.

Both Mark and Clive were asked to provide comments for a video of the event which we'll share as soon as it's available.

12 January 2017

11 high-impact green building trends to watch in 2017

It’s that time of year when we all take stock and look towards the year ahead, making predictions and educated guesses about how the next 12 months will play out. So we got our heads together in the Koru Architects office and discussed the key trends we see for sustainable building and eco design in 2017. Here’s what topped our list, followed by our company plans for the year.

green building trends

What lies ahead for green building and sustainable design? Image credit: gratisography.com

2017 green building trends

  • The Biophilic Design philosophy is gaining traction and set to get more popular, as well as certifications like the WELL Building Standard. Health and wellbeing is a bigger and more integrated issue generally, and this will take bigger role on green buildings too. This contrasts with the sector’s previous focus only on emissions and energy.
  • The current Conservative government doesn’t appear to be very committed to sustainability. Unfavourable policies, less grants and support for green buildings, (some concern that the recent debacle with Ireland’s badly-implemented RHI policy could make all Renewable Heat Incentives look bad and provide an excuse for cuts). This could reduce popularity of sustainable building.
  • Oil prices are rising again, energy costs will start to bite and this will lead to greater demand for energy efficiency and green energy generation for cost-saving reasons.
  • Brexit means sustainability could take a back seat on national policy, fall lower down the agenda as the government and public are quite focused on Brexit and avoiding economic recession. Also, the EU is pushing the green and circular economy a lot, so outside it there may be less drive towards it.
  • In the context of Brexit and the ongoing housing crisis, we don’t expect to see much increase in certified zero carbon builds this year. That’s actually not as bad as it seems, because it’s actually better to get close to it at scale rather than achieving it in a few niche cases. It’s far better to get 50% of builds to 90% zero than 10% of builds to 100%! Zero-carbon is useful as a stretch goal to reach for, but we should be more interested in incremental improvement at scale.
  • The Circular Economy will continue to gain traction in green business circles, yet the UK’s progress on this agenda risks falling behind due to lack of government support, while it looks set to accelerate in Europe.

What is 'The Circular Economy' from Green TV on Vimeo.

  • Public awareness of sustainable building concepts is increasing and will continue to rise. People know what zero-carbon or passivhaus means now, whereas even 1 or 2 years ago you’d have to explain it to everyone. Part of this could be because sustainability is discussed more in the press and TV shows than previously.
  • In general we don’t expect much Brexit-related slow down on construction (which many have predicted), as many projects are going ahead now they have some level of certainty, whereas in the run-up to  the EU referendum things were put on hold. We haven’t seen any loss of business - although we have seen contractor costs go up, which could have a knock-on effect.
  • Renewable energy growth will continue even without government support, as signs suggest it has now reached a critical mass. In particular we will see the rise of biogas, which has huge potential for energy independence and carbon reduction, and has the great practical advantage of being able to use the existing infrastructure. Ecotricity are working on biogas made from locally grown grass (claiming it has the potential to supply an incredible 97% of the UK’s gas demand!) and Good Energy are making their biogas from organic waste.

Koru Architects goals for 2017

A new contemporary timber-clad house at Mill Lane, East Hoathly - one of the projects we expect to complete in 2017

Those are our thoughts on the big picture. But what are we planning to do this year?

  • Our company is growing: we have lots of current and new projects which means we will soon be taking on a new architectural assistant to join our small Hove-based team.
  • Several projects are set to finish this year, including: Mill Lane, Portland Villas 11, Portland Villas 14, Hove Park Cafe, English Cottages, Kids Acre Farm, Carlton Hill.
  • We’re very excited to be collaborating with BHESCo to produce a solar garden product - we can’t say more at this stage, but watch this space!
  • We’ll also be launching a new blog series on natural materials, to introduce people to the kind of materials we work with and the benefits of using sustainable and non-toxic natural materials.

Our sister company PassivPod has big plans too, aiming to get funding, complete our developed/technical designs for each model, complete full costing, find a site for a full-sized prototype and hopefully hire a designer and a marketer / business development professional.

What do you think?

What major trends do you see impacting sustainable design and building in 2017? Tweet us your ideas at @KoruArchitects.

01273 204065
info@koruarchitects.co.uk

Studio 221, 91 Western Road,
Brighton and Hove, BN1 2NW

riba-chartered-practice

Subscribe to our newsletter.

Get access to latest news and all the features by subscribing here.