Henry Pelly

There’s something satisfying about being in a well-conditioned space, where the temperature is just right, the air is fresh, the light-level appropriate.

But the things that make a difference to how a building feels are not immediately obvious to the eye. It’s about having the right systems in place and the processes that support efficient building operation that make the difference.

My background is in psychology, environmental design and architecture and I think this is a potent combination for making better buildings. Design can influence human behaviour, but the complexity and reality of human behaviour should also influence design.

I advise design teams on how they can apply sustainability concepts and methodologies to produce better buildings; buildings that work. BREEAM is one of the useful tools that can help meet this end. When approached in the right spirit as a holistic and robust standard rather than another form of compliance, it provides an excellent framework to ensure that the details that deliver better building survive to the end of the construction process.