Each of our projects explore different aspects of the relationship between architecture and environment. Depending on the client, the brief and the site, we consider a series of strategies to minimise the environmental impact of our designs.
Annual average temperatures for GLOBE from 1850-2018 using data from UK Met Office, Source: Ed Hawkins
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Aim for Zero
Our practice is a signatory of the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge, aiming to achieve net-zero by reducing operational energy, embodied carbon, and potable water in our projects. We are very aware of the role of the built environment in contributing over a third of global carbon emissions, and our role in reducing or offsetting these emissions through responsible and responsive design.
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Embed passive performance
We think of our buildings as an 'interface' between internal and external environments, and aspire to create this interface through the passive operation of the building itself (daylight, natural ventilation, thermal mass, solar gains) instead of active energy-consuming systems (heating, cooling, mechanical ventilation).
Diagrid recording studio, 2021
This new-build recording studio build in east London uses a layered approach to achieve an interface between inside and outside. The building is conceived like an onion, each layer playing a role in determining the internal thermal and acoustic environment.
Architect : A-Zero Architects
Giles Bruce, Ross King
Contractor : DB Contracts
Structural Design: Simple Works
Glulam : Construkt CLT
Photos © Agnese Sanvito
02
Design environments for people
We design comfortable spaces that can adapt to people's evolving needs. Buildings need to cater for changing scenarios, families grow, and shrink, children become teenagers, parents become elderly. Buildings also increasingly need to adapt to a changing climate. We like to design of our projects in response to these dynamics, to ensure that the buildings remain comfortable and useful for the people that use them.
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Use timber instead of steel
We enjoy working with wood, and actively prioritise it over high carbon marterials like steel. We use sawn and engineered construction timber like glulam, cross-laminated timber, and brettstapele. We strive to trace the origin of all specified timber, and have been able on occasion to even select the trees which we use in our projects.
Forest House, 2023
This residential extension and reconfiguration used native grown timber from a Welsh forest, which we were able to track from harvesting to installation. Having control over the supply chain allowed us to be selective in terms of quality and quantity of the material used.
Architect : A-Zero Architects
Giles Bruce, Wei-I Chen, Limal Harris
Contractor : J&M Contractors
Structural Design: Studio Allen
Photos © Agnese Sanvito
04
Measure performance
If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it. To make informed decisions about our designs, we need to measure and analyse them. We measure the energy balances of our buildings - the energy they receive from the sun, the energy they loose from through their envelope. We measure the the environmental impact of the materials we specify - what it takes to make the products we specify, and how those products will impact their environment after we have specified them. And most importantly, we think about the contribution of our projects to the Climate Crisis, in particular the carbon emissions which arise through the making and operation of our projects.
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Connect inside and outside
The connection between inside and outside defines how we experience a building – nobody wants to be in a windowless room. We think about how we can frame views to the landscape or the sky, how we can allow the dynamic of the external environment to echo in the internal environment, or how we can design openings to draw outside air through the building for comfort and cooling.
Thames House, 2024
Adjacent to the river Thames, this new build house is designed to capture specific views to London. The building is conceived as two parts, a lower brick base built from bricks harvested from the original building which sat on the site, and an upper canililevered volume, which mediates between the scales of the adjacent buildings.
Architect : A-Zero Architects
Giles Bruce, Phillip Toyin,
Mizue Katayama, Shoichi Sado,
Maria Despina Stasi, Nicolas Tome
06
Reuse materials
Almost all our projects involve the deconstruction of existing buildings to some degree, but we actively avoid removed materials going to waste streams. Instead we aim to reuse materials that are already on site, or acquire materials from reused or recycled sources. This approach makes sense both in terms of reducing construction costs and minimising embodied carbon emissions.
The smallest footprint, 2023
Even small projects have modest carbon foot-prints. In this small extension in Eltham we minimised the embodied carbon by salvaging and reusing CLT and steel and designing the structure to reduce concrete foundations.
Architect : A-Zero Architects
Giles Bruce, Chenru Sung Shoichi Sado
Contractor : Blero Construction
Structural Design: Fordham Consulting
Photos © Mizue Katayama
07
Integrate Renewable Technologies
Renewable technologies are increasingly used in buildings to meet building energy demands without fossil fuels. Air source and ground source heat pumps are now standard in most of our projects, and we frequently specify Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery systems. Solar renewables for electricity generation and water heating have a role, so long as they can be integrated into the building seamlessly.
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Height, Light and Social Connections
There is no substitute for natural light, be it light form the sun or light form the sky, and the more sky you see, the more light you get. One approach we enjoy in our projects is interconnecting floors, creating diagonal and vertical connections,. This brings light deep into the plan, but also to open up the possibility of conversations and social interaction between floors.
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Make efficient use of space
Space is valuable, and we believe that building high density cities is an important part of our approach. We often advocate exceeding 'standard' density limits, by demonstrating that high quality living environment with access to sunlight, view, and amenity are all feasible through site specific design.
Whitechapel extension, 2023
This deep retrofit and extesion of a 1980's Barratts Home in Whitechapel, East London made full use of the space available on the site, but opened up new private amenity space in the roof, challenging the notion that the only outdoor space can be in the back garden.
Architect : A-Zero Architects
Giles Bruce, Yasamin Arbabi, Shoichi Sado
Contractor : J&M Contractors
Structural Design: Studio Allen
Videos © Agnese Sanvito