Core curriculum topic: Sustainable architecture

To help you gain the skills you need to practise architecture now and in the future as a RIBA Chartered Member, we have defined 10 mandatory core curriculum topics to address through CPD.

The topic Sustainable architecture covers the legal and regulatory basis (including primary and secondary legislation) and principles of climate change mitigation and adaptation. It also covers low carbon and low energy design, over the life cycle of a building, with effective client briefing and management.

Sustainable architecture

Background and context: understanding of

The built environment has an urgent role to play in responding to the climate emergency and the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge calls on members and industry to meet net zero whole life carbon (or less) in the buildings they design by 2030. The subject areas set out in this knowledge schedule for the RIBA mandatory competence in Climate Literacy enable RIBA Chartered Architects to design buildings that deliver sustainable outcomes and meet the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge.

*Global and built environment climate fundamentals

Climate fundamentals
Financial risks and net zero economy
Environmental impacts of the built environment
Sustainable urbanism, architecture and engineering
Built environment policy, legislation, regulations, commitments, benchmarks and construction industry guidance

*RIBA Sustainable Outcomes and common threads

RIBA Sustainable Outcomes Guide: outcomes based briefing and design, Plan for Use, Soft Landings and post occupancy evaluation
Retrofit, adaptation and reuse
Planning for climate extremes, disaster risk, resilience, redundancy and adaptation
Life cycle costing, investment and procurement
Research and innovation

*Human factors

Health and wellbeing
Communities, interconnectivity and inclusion
Social value
Biophilic and sensory design
User experience design and occupancy behaviour

*Circular economy

Resource efficiency and geographic implications
Designing for change (flexibility and adaptability) and regeneration
Environmental and health impacts of materials and waste
Waste as a resource
Responsible and ethical sourcing

*Energy and carbon

Passive design
Active design
Whole life carbon (for retrofit and new build): modelling, carbon assessments and iterative design process
Offsetting
Operational energy and carbon, modelling and technology

*Ecology and biodiversity

Biodiversity and net gain
Nature-based solutions
Land use and building density
Bio-regional urbanism and design
Urban farming and sustainable food production

* Water

Water cycle, demand, supply and reduction
Water recycling and reuse
Rainwater harvesting, stormwater management and sustainable urban drainage
Water pollution in (natural) aquatic habitats
Climate change impacts (floods, droughts, water quality)

*Connectivity and transport

Site location
Compact development and walkability
Regional and local infrastructure and planning
Low carbon transport and multimodal transportation networks
Planning for future of transportation

Legislation: understanding of

Primary legislation (acts or orders) such as:

Clean Air Act.
Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act.
Climate Change Act.
Energy Act.
Environmental Protection Act.
Flood and Water Management Act.
Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act.
Water Resources Act.
Wildlife and Countryside Act.
^{The key points laid out in NPPF regarding presumption in favour of sustainable design}

Secondary legislation (regulations) and standards such as:

Relevant Building Regulations such as L1 and L2 and the devolved nations’ equivalents
Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations.
Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations.
BS EN 15978:2011 Sustainability of Construction Works. Assessment of environmental performance of buildings. Calculation method
BS EN 15804:2012 Environmental product declarations. Core rules for the product category of construction products
RICS Professional Statement: Whole Life Carbon: Implementation in the built environment, 2017.
Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations.
Site Waste Management Plan Regulations.
Town and Country Planning Regulations (environmental impact assessment) (England and Wales)
SUDS legislation and the need to respond to predicted future flood conditions
Code for Sustainable Homes
The Passivhaus Standard
BREEAM standards
PAS 1192
ISO 20400: Sustainable Procurement Standard

Client briefing and management

Understanding and prioritising energy efficiency in low carbon design over whole life
Energy efficiency as underpinning the more general aim of low carbon emissions
Communicating the ethical and pragmatic importance of low carbon design
Low energy and high comfort together resulting in good outcomes for client and planet
Communicating the importance of the selection of low carbon materials and systems.
The importance of life cycle analysis in aiding the understanding of a buildings physical performance over its life.
Understanding stakeholders, clients, planning and legislative authorities
Defining the brief whilst balancing sustainability targets
Importance of commissioning and building management – soft landings as a process from start to finish
Building performance metrics such as kWhr.m2a kgCO2/m2
KPI's and which ones should be used and comfort indices such as IAQ, CO2 levels, temperature.

Knowledge of low carbon skills and energy literacy

The thermal implications of building form and fabric, and how thermal performance can be improved

The effects of location, shelter and shading on thermal performance and allied issues such as moisture
The effects of building form on heat loss and solar aperture and how these can be modelled using software or simple maths
The use of solar and internal heat gains and their contribution to overheating if not managed
The use of building form to promote natural ventilation and cooling where appropriate Understanding the difference between summer and winter ventilation
The importance of the continuity of insulation and air-tightness within a ventilation strategy
The importance of minimising thermal bridging and air leakage
Deploying constructions of high and low thermal mass appropriately
Understanding how light and heavy structures can influence performance and may be appropriate or less so to certain building types
U value and Ψ value calculations

Building services systems that contribute to low carbon performance, and understanding the pros and cons of:

Reducing cooling loads to avoid the need for cooling or air conditioning
Ventilation options including natural cross-ventilation, passive stack ventilation, and mechanical supply and/or extract ventilation
Ensuring efficient and responsive heating and cooling plant and heat emitters
Responsive systems and controls to improve efficiency and permit the use of solar and internal gains
Efficient internal and external lighting systems and controls, and understanding how to keep systems simple

New and renewable energy systems and the ability to compare and evaluate systems

· Understanding how these systems work and what variables contribute to saving carbon

Heat pumps
Combined heat and power including micro CHP
Solar water heating
Biofuel heating systems
Photovoltaic arrays
Wind turbines

Embodied and Whole Life Carbon assessments for new construction work

Embodied carbon assessments through RIBA work stages.
Optimize recycled content compatible with low carbon objectives.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
LCA to establish durability of components, and flexibility of completed project.
LCA to establish maintenance and replacement cycles.
LCA to include ‘end of life’ assessment to ascertain resource efficient demolition and capacity for reuse of components and materials

Energy and environmental assessment for new and existing buildings

Domestic energy rating (SAP and NHER) including performance certification
Understanding of SAP as current compliance tool. Knowledge of other modelling tolls such as IES and PHPP and understanding which model for which job.
Non domestic energy rating systems (SBEM, etc) including performance certification
Environmental assessment methodologies such as BREEAM and LEED
Code for Sustainable Homes
Domestic energy survey techniques and assessments
Housing stock assessment and stock profiling
Non domestic energy surveys

Airtightness and performance

Building physics
Condensation risk calculations, moisture management and avoidance of moisture
Movement of moisture in building fabric
Relative humidity, internal moisture control and moisture buffering
Closing the performance gap and understanding the phenomena that create performance gap in the first place then understanding how to eliminate these issues
Heat loss parameters and understanding the relationship between air tightness, insulation, glazing, heat loss and solar gain
Understanding and designing for thermal comfort and the need for overheating risk mapping for future conditions
Health and wellbeing, including indoor air quality

Whole building overview and process

Strategic definition: RIBA stage 0
Specification and tender
Procurement and cost management
Material selection, embodied energy, recycling and minimising waste
Whole life carbon foot printing
Life Cycle Analysis
Resource energy efficiency, materials, water, energy and behaviour
Thermal upgrade of historic and listed buildings
Using relevant insulation for listed buildings
Design for deconstruction, recycling and reuse (and reduction of waste)
Construction processes to mitigate impact – use of offsite construction (see also design, construction and technology core topic)

Energy efficiency and listed buildings: understanding of

Series of relevant published guidance by Historic England
Published guidance on responsible retrofit of Traditional Buildings by the STBA (sponsored by Historic England)
SPAB Energy Efficiency reports
Understanding the special interest of the listed building and how thermal upgrading may be effected without it being compromised
Understanding the requirement for listed building consent and the exemptions provided by approved document L (also in the case of buildings of traditional construction)
Thermal upgrade of listed buildings, buildings in conservation areas, and of buildings of traditional construction
The use of the right insulation
The correct window upgrades
Understanding defects and behaviours of various materials
Approaches to repair and conservation techniques

Find CPD on this topic

You must take two hours of CPD on this topic every year.

Find RIBA accredited CPD on Sustainable architecture through RIBA Academy.

Related courses include:

Podcasts, videos, articles, and other offers can also contribute towards your CPD requirements.