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In these times we tend to grasp onto something, anything that relieves the feelings of being lost.Like being swept away in a river, we feel the need to grab hold of the nearest branch or rock.
These feelings are called by psychologists Ontological Insecurity.The irony is that in these times and moments we can develop the best ideas, breakthrough arbitrary boundaries and find amazing solutions..This is often the situation at the start of a design project.
Often called pre-project, this could be a time for exploration, broad thinking, analysis and imagination, however often it’s a time for reductive thinking.I have been in design meetings at these early stages where discussions are happening about what might be on the first, second or third floor of a building.
This is before the requirement for a building, let alone a building of a number of stories, has been established.
Although, there is a good chance some sort of building will be required, the speed with which the teams grasp onto the physical and the detail is astounding.To meet the LETI benchmarks this means every other element in the building needs to perform better to offset the impact of MEP.
MEP calculations are still in their infancy compared with the rest of the building, meaning more research and data collection is required to create robust calculations and benchmarks.MEP has a short lifespan compared with other elements and as such it is even more important to consider the whole life impact of services, alongside the operational carbon impact..
At two thirds of the whole life carbon, embodied carbon is critically important within an office building.Decisions made during early design stages should prioritise embodied carbon alongside design, function, and aesthetics..