Joined-Up Thinking
Below is a list of our services. We bring joined-up thinking and good practice to whaever we’re working on – our daylight advice considers overheating, for example. You may need our services because you need to satisfy planning conditions or acheive targets found in BREEAM, the Home Quality Mark, the Decent Homes Standard, WELL, LEED, Urban Greening Factor and Biodiversity Net Gain targets, or just because you want to do a good job.
WHAT WE DO
DAYLIGHT ADVICE & REPORTS FOR PLANNING
Our expertise stretches back 25 years. In that time, we have supplied hundreds of daylight reports for successful planning applications, assessing a project’s impact on its neighbours and internal natural light levels. On the way, we have found solutions to countless daylight design conundrums. We design for daylight, we don’t just measure it. Unlike many daylight consultants, we guard against advice which may cause problems elsewhere, for example, overheating or heat loss. In addition, we also offer consultancy services for internal natural light assessments, shading and glazing design and studies of photosynthetically useful daylight
BESPOKE SHADING DESIGN
Need a window or part of your site shaded at certain times of day for certain parts of the year and not at other? We can help. We can work with you to create bespoke shading designs for your window, building, garden or play area. Make your room or outdoor space, not too hot, not too cold, but just right.
COMFORTABLE CLASSROOMS AND LOWER BILLS
We have worked with pupils, teachers and site staff in several schools to reduce their energy use and improve comfort in classrooms, using plants to provide shade and coolth where possible. Significant savings are possible at no cost through behaviour change (for example, reducing electricity use by 25%). We provide a report but also give assemblies and workshops for staff and pupils.
ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN & JOINED-UP THINKING
Set your project off on the right foot by designing with the climate, not against it. What’s the best direction for the front door to face to avoid a draft? How deep should the floor plan be to provide enough light and avoid problems with daylight down the line? How much daylight will cause an overheating problem? How can I shade my south-facing glass without losing my excellent daylight? Answering these and other questions will ease your way through planning and are crucial to efficient design. Our early-stage environmental design workshop will set your project off on the right track.
THE SECRET LIFE OF PLANTS
With a little early holistic thinking, we can help your project meet targets for biodiversity and urban greening whilst creating comfortable conditions in and around your building, as well as lowering energy consumption and the risk of overheating. By considering surrounding airflow, natural light access and water retention we provide advice on employing plants to improve the microclimate around buildings.
PASSIVE DESIGN WORKSHOP AND ADVICE
Analyse the sun, wind and water on your site to make the most of their perks and avoid their dangers
OF NOTE
Some interesting projects we were responsible for in previous incarnations include Edinburgh City Council’s Design and Construction Guide, daylight design for the National Trust HQ, the design and construction of Glastonbury climbing wall, a talk on school pupils and post occupancy evaluation given at the CIBSE Technical Symposium, developing the blueprint for Energy Action Areas in London, thermal simulations for MAXXI and bespoke eco-housebuilding via Wild Oak Carpentry.