This is the third in the series of sustainability matrices published in the AJ in September 2010 under the title 'Decoding Sustainability'. It demonstrates the range of options in different criteria for designing a sustainable school.

At Max Fordham we use the matrices during early design to help communicate what sustainability driven decisions will mean to our clients. This is a generic version; we tailor strategies and options to make each matrix project specific and keep up to date with changing technologies and standards. Boxes are highlighted so that the client and design team can visualise what sustainability targets the project can achieve within the budget. Further highlighting can identify where increased investment together with a reasonable payback could push the scheme further.

The schools matrix highlights the importance of the user in building energy use. This fact is partly why presenting accurate energy targets is so difficult. Two energy targets have been given, a design target based on standard analysis methods for regulation and actual usage figures based on in-use metered loads, which reflect more realistically in use data.

As a practice we think it important to drive the sustainability agenda and stimulate discussion, so versions of our current matrices were published in AJ and we welcome feedback on them. The examples in this series give an indication of what we could produce for your specific building project in order to help you decide your own sustainability agenda and how to communicate this successfully.

Can download the matrix on the right.