September 28, 2007—The 2007 BREEAM Awards were announced September 20 at the BRE (Building Research Establishment) Annual Conference in the UK. The BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) Awards recognize and reward those involved in the design and construction of the highest-scoring buildings certified under BREEAM each year.
In order to win an award, each building must have excelled in every environmental category within BREEAM (e.g. from Energy to Ecology); therefore winners represent a holistic approach to delivering environmental sustainability, says BRE.
Unlike many construction awards, the BREEAM awards are not subjectively judged but reward the developments that have been independently assessed and certified as scoring the highest number of credits in the relevant year. The pre-requirements are that the development must score an EXCELLENT and have been certified to a recent BREEAM version (2005 onwards).
The three developments highlighted this year for their outstanding achievement in environmental design and management are:
- BREEAM Bespoke—Swindon Central Library, Swindon; Developer & Architect: Swindon Borough Council; BREEAM Score: 72.51%
- BREEAM EcoHomes—Plots 1-19, Block 6, Site B, Upton, Northampton; Developer: Cornhill Estates Ltd Architects: Working Group, Porphyrios Associates, Gale and Snowden; BREEAM Score: 80.25%.
- BREEAM Offices—Innovate Green Office, Thorpe Park, Leeds; Developer: Innovate Property Ltd.; Architect: Rio Architects; BREEAM Score: 87.55%
According to BRE, BREEAM is the world’s leading environmental assessment method for buildings, with almost 100,000 buildings certified and over half a million registered. It reportedly sets the standard for best practice in sustainable design and has become the de facto measure of a building’s environmental performance.
