Practice History and Philosophy
Our design process is based on a strong commitment to sustainability using passive means by considering building form and how it conditions the environment within. We design services to make buildings comfortable using heat, light and ventilation and aim to deliver systems that are simple and efficient, with robust detailing, good maintenance access and low running costs.
Our work ranges from services for individual buildings in a wide range of sectors to urban masterplanning and infrastructure. All our engineers are familiar with both mechanical and electrical services, as we find this promotes efficiency, coordination and integration. It also provides a highly flexible team to meet the varying demands of the project. From this broad base some engineers have developed specialisms. This enables us to offer both detailed knowledge and experience of coordination in acoustics, lighting design, computer modelling, specialist CAD and building physics, environmental audits, urban design and masterplanning and control of complex environments such as museums, archives, laboratories and pools.
Building services are responsible for over half the carbon emissions produced by our society. We aim to minimise their impact on the environment by making use of passive design. From the start of a project we work with the design team to develop the form, fabric and orientation of buildings or groups of buildings, to make the best use of solar gain or daylighting, minimise overheating, provide ventilation and control energy use. We identify ways in which energy consumption, use of resources and the production of waste can be reduced. We also advise on techniques for generating energy on site, including photovoltaic panels, solar-thermal panels, biomass, district/community heating, combined heat and power, ground coupling, fuel cells and wind turbines. Throughout the design process we consider life-cycle costs: the environmental effects of the project from construction through to demolition.
An integrated approach is the foundation of our working practice and a major factor in attracting people to join us. We attach great importance to the people we work with, and the structure of our organisation is designed to give all who work here a voice in key decisions. We are a Limited Liability Practice, currently with over 130 engineers and administrators in our offices in London, Cambridge and Edinburgh.
Over forty years, the success of our approach has brought us many awards, including The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development.
