Building physics, commonly known as passive engineering, is a service offered by the firm to assist the architect in achieving a building form which makes the most of the local climate.  The aim is to ensure that the building is designed such that there is an absolutely minimum reliance on artificial control of the internal environment.

Typical targets for a building would be that there are no artificial lights on during daylight hours and that the air-conditioning is only in operation for 6 months of the year.  These targets are achievable in many buildings and bring a number of benefits including significantly lower building services capital and recurrent costs, a healthier indoor environment and a reduced impact on the global environment.

The firm offers the following building physics capabilities:

·         Solar control by appropriate shading arrangements.

·         Night flushing with correct use of building mass.

·         Natural ventilation techniques and analysis.

·         Natural day lighting techniques and analysis.

·         Cost effectiveness of thermal insulation.

·         Summertime temperature analysis without the use of air-conditioning.

·         Orientation and planning analysis.

·         Advice on artificial lighting and air-conditioning controls to properly integrate with the passive design.

·         Alternative low energy solutions for the provision of hot water.

·         Reuse of rain water.