Low-carbon outcomes in the built environment

Will Hawkins, Angus Peters and Tim Mander argue for designers to challenge overspecification and grasp the opportunity that reduced floor loads offer for low-carbon structural design.

Jenny Pattison discusses the typical considerations that structural engineers face when seeking to add floors to an existing building, and the sustainability outcomes of potential solutions.

Can very low-carbon buildings be constructed cheaply enough to suit the pockets of private-sector commercial developers? Yes, says Professor John French, who has set himself that target in his new role as director of sustainability for Cambridge Innovation Parks. But to do so involves overhauling approaches to procurement, contracting, materials and risk.