October 24, 2007—The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has unveiled a suite of climate change guidance documents for architects and consumers during the RIBA’s Small Practice Conference.
The guidance documents, known collectively as the RIBA Climate Change Toolkit, are primarily aimed at the construction industry though the first guide in the series, the Climate Change Briefing, is designed to have a broad, non-professional appeal.
The RIBA Climate Change Toolkit has been produced by a specialist consultant on behalf of the RIBA. It consists of the following three downloadable PDFs, also available as A4 printed documents, alongside A5 summary versions:
- Climate Change Briefing focuses on the range of fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions associated with new and existing UK buildings of different types and with different servicing systems, and identifies key factors that affect carbon dioxide emissions. This document is an introduction to the key issues and has been written to appeal to the consumer, as well as the construction professional.
- Guide to Low Carbon Performance Methods and Assessment Method focuses on new and existing buildings, covering energy and environmental standards for the main building types (residential, commercial and public), and including references and links for more detailed information.
- Guide to Low Carbon Design Tools, the third guide, covers performance simulation software for buildings of different types, post-construction performance testing, and performance monitoring and evaluation methods; and includes references and links for more detailed information.
Three further climate change—a Carbon Literacy Briefing, Guide to The Principles of Low Carbon Design and Refurbishment and Guide to Low Carbon Skills and Training—will be published over the following six months to complete a suite of six documents, says RIBA.
According to RIBA, this toolkit is one part of an RIBA program of work designed to address how the architecture profession, and the institute itself, can play its part in tacking climate change.
For more information on RIBA, visit its Web site. To download the Climate Change Toolkit, go online.
