66 Portland Place Case study
Building name: The RIBA Location: 66 Portland Place, Paddington, Westminster W1B 1AD Fuction: Royal Institute of British Architects Headquarters Stories: Six Architect: George Grey Wornum Date of construction: 1920 - 1934 Opened: Summer: 1934
Jordan Collins
Contents Introduction
3-7
#01 - Air #02 - Light #03 - Ground #04 - Water #05 - Energy #06 - Recycle
8 - 15 16 - 21 22 - 29 30 - 37 38 - 43 44 - 46
Synthesis Conclusion
47 48
References
49
Introduction to 66 Portland Place Home to the Royal Institute of British Architects, 66 Portland Place is an Art Deco, grade II* listed building designed by British architect George Grey Worum, whose design was chosen over 3600 other entries. The building was opened in 1934 by King George V and Queen Mary.
There are a range of suites and rooms that host meetings, conferences and receptions for up to 400 people. The building is capable of holding events such as weddings, ceremonies and bar/bat mitzvahs and contains lecture theaters, a bookshop, a café and holds exhibitions, with a new gallery space opening in spring 2014.
A section drawing by George Grey Wornum showing the Henry Jarvis Memorial Hall, landings and offices Circa 1931 The architect, George Grey Worum (1888 – 1957) was a British architect who was born in London. His portfolio includes supervising the interior decorative designs of the original RMS Queen Elizabeth liner and was responsible for the layout of Parliament Square. He often worked for Westminster Council, designing public buildings and designed a style of lamp post that is still used today. In 1952, Wornum was the winner of the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture.
The building houses the British Architectural Library, one of the three largest architectural libraries in the world; being the largest in Europe. The library is based in two locations, one being 66 Portland Place and the other being the Henry Cole Wing of the V&A, of which the RIBA shares a partnership with. The library is open to the public free of charge. The library’s vast collection includes archives, biographical files, books, drawings, periodicals and photographs.
Journey to the RIBA
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RIBA Floor Plans
Situated between Oxford Street and Regent’s Park, the RIBA building (in between Devonshire Street and Cavendish Street on the map above) is in the heart of London’s West End. There are three tube stations all relatively close to the building; Regent’s Park, served by the Bakerloo line, Great Portland Street, served by the Hammersmith and City, Circle and Metropolitan lines, and Oxford Cirucs, served by the Central line. Three buses also serve along Portland Place, the 88, 453 and C2, abliet only one way. Furthermore, there are 7 hospitals within a 2 mile radius and 10 firs stations within 3 miles.
The abpove images show the most frequent and easiest routes I took from Avery Hill to the Royal Institute of British Architects. The top photos show a route taken by bus then tube, the advantage of this was a higher frequency of buses, but had a longer travel time
#01 Air
Ventilation, Convection& Radiation
The air around us moves due to changes in temperature, these changes create convection currents. Convection is the transfer of heat through a fluid by the physical movement of the fluid itself, and convection currents are those movements. Convection currents can form within the air, water and the earth itself. The temperature of a fluid is proportional to the density of the fluid, where the temperature of the fluid is related to the energy of the particles in the fluid. When part of the fluid becomes heated, it becomes less dense due to the increased velocity of particles in the fluid, and as a result rises through the surrounding fluid. Whereas cold air becomes denser, as the particles have less energy and do not move as much, therefore they sink. A steady source of heat (or cold) can start a continuous current flow, since the fluid moving in to replace the original heated (or cooled) material is then heated or cooled in its turn. This is what causes convection current.
The RIBA, a public building with large rooms, attracts many visitors and guests and whom no doubt impact upon the convection currents within the building. At night, with perhaps minimal human impact, the building would experience different currents due to the lack of body heat. Below are details of the opening hours of the building. The first table shows facilities from the ground floor and the first floor restaurant & bar whilst the second table shows the opening times to different sections of the RIBA Library. It is worth noting that whilst building work is being carried out on the lower ground floor, the restaurant and bar are closed. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Library
Inside a building, there are several ways in which the air can become heated, such as radiators, vents, windows and air conditioning. However, there are other factors involved, such as the body heat people emit. Although one person sat in a room may have little effect on the surroundings, a large gathering of people can have a dramatic effect on the temperature of a room.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Bookshop 9.30am - 5.30pm 9.30am - 5.30pm 9.30am - 5.30pm 9.30am - 5.30pm 9.30am - 5.30pm 10am - 5pm 10am - 5pm
Cafe 8am - 7pm 8am - 9pm 8am - 7pm 8am - 7pm 8am - 6pm 9am - 5pm 9am - 5pm
Restaurant & Bar Temporarily Closed Temporarily Closed Temporarily Closed Temporarily Closed Temporarily Closed Temporarily Closed Temporarily Closed
Reading Room / Books and Periodicals Closed 10am - 8pm 10am- 5pm Closed 10am- 5pm 10am- 1.30pm Closed
Photographs
Study Rooms / Drawings and Archives Closed 10am- 5pm 10am- 5pm 10am- 5pm 10am- 5pm Closed Closed
Closed Reduced Access Reduced Access Closed Reduced Access Closed Closed
One of the windows which are located on each of the staircases from the 2nd floor to the 6th floor, which can be opened for venitaltion.
Stack Ventilation Stack Ventilation, otherwise known as The Stack Effect is a form of convection current that is driven through a build- Natural ventilation has several benefits to mechanical ventialtion: zero energy consumption; low running cost; low ing by vertical pressure. If warm air is able to escape from the building through openings high up in the building, maintenance and; lower initial cost. Furthermore, it is regarded as healthier and having less hygiene problems due to less ducts and filters. The effectiveness of the stack effect is dependent upon 3 main factors: the height of the then cooler air is brought into the building lower down, thus creating a continuous cycle. stack; the difference between the temperature across the stack and the outside and; the size of the openings in which air enters and leaves. The drawings below show convection currents due to stack ventialation and how pressure plays a role in this
The RIBA Building; The following diagrams represent floor plans of each floor, with arrows showing both hot and cold air flowing through the rooms. Blue denotes cold air whilst red denotes hot air and purple represents vents. Although there are 8 floors in the RIBA building (Lower Ground - 6th Floor), there are several rooms that cannot be accessed by the general public, the 3rd-6th floors in particuar are difficult to acess, therefore, I have not included diagrams for these floors.
Lower Ground Floor Plan Also note that there are vents under every other chair in the Jarvis Hall, which can accomidate for up to 300 people. This allows for the room to stay at a comfortable temperature, even when the room is full. 1: Front on view of under-chair vents
2: Vents that run along the sides of Jarvis Hall
Blue arrow: Cold air Red arrow: Hot air Purple arrow: Vent
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2 3 3: Jarvis Hall
4: Side on view of under-chair vents
5: Vents underneath lighting in Jarvis Hall.
Ground Floor Plan
First Floor Plan
The Bookshop was one of the few rooms we saw that had radiators. This could possibly be due to the fact that the ground floor would be one of the coldest floors due to convection currents and the large entrance doors by the reception that allow plenty of cold air to enter the building. The RIBA Bar was also a warm room, no doubt due to the fact that many people stay in the bar, which is a relatively small room. Furthermore, the large amount of hot drinks served most likely had a heating effect on the room.
The main feature of the First Floor is the Florence Hall, a large and open space with vents running along the sides of the room. The floor is cool and airy, with plenty of large windows that run along the South-East side of the building, allowing cool air to enter. The is also a garden terrace which is accessible by three large doors from Florence Hall, which also allow cool air in.
Blue arrow: Cold air Red arrow: Hot air Purple arrow: Vent
Blue arrow: Cold air Red arrow: Hot air Purple arrow: Vent
1: Florence Hall, showing large glass windows, with doors that can access the garden terrace. There are vents in the walls between the windows, each with a different design. 2: A close up view of one the of vents in Florence Hall.
1: View of the revolving door with a door either side 2: One of the five radiators within the RIBA Bookshop
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Second Floor Plan The second floor, much like the first floor, has a large and cool landing with large windows running down the SouthEast side of the building. It also has several meeting rooms, of which I was able to enter two; the Lutyens Room and the Aston Webb Room.
Blue arrow: Cold air Red arrow: Hot air Purple arrow: Vent
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1: Lutyens Room can accomodate up to 70 people as a theatre/standing buffet, or up to 50 people as a seated dinner. This picture shows radiators and windows running along the side of the room, which can allow the temperature of the room to be regulated easily. As a large room, it can become cold when unoccupied but when there are up to 70 guests there is no doubt the room can become very warm.
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2 and 3: The Aston Webb Room is as boardroom which can accomodate up to 22 people. It is one of the few rooms in the building that benefit from air conditioning. Vents are located either side of the windows, with a thermostat in one corner.
This diagram shows how the heaters at the end of each shelf in the library contribute to the convection currents within the space
#02 Light
Natrual/ Artificial
Sun Diagrams
Figure 3
Figure 4
I visited the RIBA building on Wednesday 23rd October between 1pm and 3pm to investigate how light is used within the building and how it has been incorporated into the design of the building. On the day, the weather was mostly cloudy with some sun. The following are diagrams of the sun path, sun rays and shadow rays over the building at 2pm on 23rd October.
Figure 1
Figure 3 shows the direction of the sun’s rays throughout the day as seen from the RIBA. Figure 4 represents the shadows casts by the sun as it moves through the day.
Due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis, the position of the sun in the sky changes each day, with the two extremes being the Summer Soltice and the Winter Solstice, therefore i have included diagrams from both of these days to show the full of extent of the position of the sun in relation to the RIBA building. Figure 5 represents the summer solstice whilst Figure 6 shows the winter solstice. Figure 1 and Figure 2 represent the path of the sun, with the bold yellow line showing when the sun is visible from this location. Figure 2
Figure 5
Figure 6
Ground Floor Reflected Ceiling Plan and Light Meter Photos
First Floor Reflected Ceiling Plan and Light Meter Photos
Second Floor Ceiling Plan and Light Meter Photos
Light in use; Ground Floor
Timelapse photographs 23rd October 2013
2:04 PM
2:49 PM
2:16 PM
3:01PM
These photographs show the way in which natural light enters the building and how that light moves over a period of 45 minutes
Light in use; First Floor
#03 Ground
Materials/ Construction
Portland Stone When it comes to the materials used within the RIBA, Portland Stone is instantly the most dominant and noticeable material used. The six storey building is steel framed and faced in Portland Stone. Portland Stone is an iconic construction material which has been used to create buildings since 1080. It has been used for many of London’s grand buildings. The stone is quarried from the Isle of Portland in Dorset, with the formation of the stone dating back to the end of the Jurassic Period; 145 million years ago. In short, Portland Stone is formed in a marine environment known as carbonate ramp, on the floor of a shallow, warm sub-tropical sea not far from land. Due to continental drift, the South of England would have been located much further south than today, satisfying these requirements. The degree of cementation in Portland Stone is sufficient to allow it to resist the detrimental effects of the weather, but it is not so well cemented that it can’t be readily worked (cut and carved) by masons. This is one of the reasons why Portland Stone is so favoured as a monumental and architectural stone. The use of Portland Stone as a construction material dates back to Roman times. However, it was not until the early 1300s that Portland Stone started being used within London, where it was used to build the Palace of Westminster in 1347, the Tower of London in 1349 and the first stone London Bridge in 1350. Sir Christopher Wren used nearly one million cubic feet to rebuild St. Paul’s Cathedral and many other minor churches after the Great Fire of London in 1666. All of the stone used by Wren was transported by sailing barge from Portland to the centre of London via the Thames. Wren’s widespread use of Portland Stone firmly established it as London’s “local stone”. Other famous London buildings constructed of Portland Stone include The Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich 1712, The British Museum 1753, Somerset House 1792, General Post Office 1829, The Bank of England, Mansion House 1758 and the National Gallery 1838.
At the beginning of the Nineteenth Century the output of Portland Stone is believed to have typically been 25,000 tons per annum. One estimate suggests that there were 800 men and boys, 180 horses and 50 ships involved in Portland’s stone trade at that time. In the years following the Industrial Revolution, the acid rain, resulting from the heavy combustion of coal in cities had the effect of a slight yet continuous dissolving the surface of Portland Stone ashlar on buildings. This had the fortuitous benefit of keeping exposed and rain-washed surfaces white in contrast to other stones which quickly discoloured to black in the smoky atmospheres. This sacrificial self-cleaning property probably helped to enhance the popularity of Portland Stone at this time. The image below is an example of other buildings in London that have been constructed with Portland Stone (clockwise from top left) : Somerset House, 1776; The National Gallery, 1838; Greenwich Naval College, 1712; The Bank of England, 1732.
66 Portland Place, as the well-known home to the RIBA, has been richly crafted with grand and impressive materials such as portland stone and marble. The majority of the materials used within the building were sourced from Commonwealth countries. The front doors, crafted from bronze weigh 1.5 tonnes each. The main structure of the building is a steel frame, with a layer of Portland Stone. The inner walls on the ground floor reflect this and the marble floor compliments the sense of grandeur. Some of the most frequent materials include Portland Stone, steel, leather, demara marble and birdseye marble, bronze, wood, etched and plain glass. The Aston Webb room is completely lined in leather, whilst the Jarvis uditorium and the Council Chamber are fully lined in wood.
Materials of the main staircase Digital Screen
Portland Stone
The ground floor area is in pre-cast terrazzo panels surrounded by Hopton wood stone and grey birdseye marble
The main staircase is figured demara marble and black birdseye marble
The handrails are polished gold bronze with embroided mahogany inlaid centres
The balustrading is silver broze frames encasing plain and deeply etched armourplate glass panels; the raked balustrades have an abstract pattern and those on the first floor show the Royal Coat of Arms, the RIBA Badge and the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth Countries
Materials of Florence Hall Plaster ceiling reliefs which illustrates various building industry trades and crafts and the craftsmen involved
A screen of carved Quebec pine, which illustrates in 20 seperate panels, scenes from Commonwealth coutries
The floor is polished Indian silver greywood. The two sets of five rectagular areas that flank it are in polished teak with black and grey birdseye marble surrounds
#04 Water
Usage/ Flow/ Infrastructure
As water makes up between 50 and 70% of an adult’s total body weight, regular top-ups are needed to balance the loss of water from the body in the form of urine and sweat. If we did not replace the water lost the body would not be able to survive. Dehydration will set in, firstly, with headaches, tiredness and loss of concentration followed, in extreme cases, by constipation and in the long-term kidney stones. The British Dietetic Association advises that we should consume 2.5 litres a day to remain healthy
Thames Water “We supply 2.6 billion litres of drinking water to nine million people across London and the Thames Valley every day. Thirty-five per cent of the water we supply is pumped from natural underground reservoirs called aquifers. The other 65 per cent is pumped from rivers. However, the vast majority of river water is supplied from aquifers, making groundwater our most important source of water. For water to reach the aquifer, the ground needs to be saturated so it soaks through to the rocks beneath. As a result, winter is the most important time for replenishing supplies�
These charts above show the latest results (2011) to water quality at the nearest point to 66 Portland Place. They show that the water contains 266.5 mg/l of Calcium carbonate; the compound that determines water hardness. This level of calcium carbonate classes the water as hard water. Although hard water does not pose any health risks when drank, it can have a serious effect on appliances that use water, such as kettles or dishwashers. This is because limescale builds up over time which can damage the appliances.
Heating in the library
Upper terrace
Water being used throughout the RIBA
Water pipes
Downstairs toilets
Outside
On arriving at the RIBA, I spoke to the receptionist and asked to talk to one of the maintenance staff about plumbing and the water system within the building. I met with a maintenance worker who showed me a room on the lower ground floor containing the mains water service. From here, he explained that water is taken from London Water and used within the building, these pipes are linked to two large tanks, both of which can hold 2,000 litres of water, on the roof of the building that store water for general use within the building. When asked if there where any existing plans of the plumbing system for the building, he replied that he works from memory. He also explained that work has been done to the system since it had first been created and that there are no existing maps or plans concerning the water system. I also visited the RIBA library and researched the history of the building using a collection of information the library has gathered about the building. It quickly became evident that there was no information what so ever in relation to the use of water within the building, including water systems or plumbing plans. As the RIBA is a historic building with strong links to architecture, it appears great effort has gone in to hiding the structure of the building from plain sight. After walking around the building looking for places that revealed connections to the building’s water systems, it became clear that the main areas of the building related to water are the toilets, the RIBA cafe and the kitchens. Of these, only accessible areas for the public where the toilets. There are 7 restrooms
Water tanks
To water mains
#05 Energy
Heat/ Storage/ Power
Energy in the RIBA
Energy is one of the basic quantitative properties describing a physical system or object’s state. Energy can be convertedamong a number of forms, but is confined to the law of the conservation of energy, which states that the totalenergy of a system can increase or decrease only by transferring transferring the energy in or out of the system.
The RIBA is a large and public building, which contains numerous devices that consume energy. Obvious examples include lighting,heating and electrical appliances such as computers, television screens and kitchen utilities. The RIBA states that 100% of theirelectricity supply is sources from renewable sources.
The definition of energy: Power derived from the utilization of physical or chemical resources, especially to provide light and heat or to work machines: nuclear energy The property of matter and radiation which is manifest as a capacity to perform work, such as causing motion or the interaction of molecules: a collision in which no energy is transferred Most common forms of energy: Kinetic; the motion of an object or body Potential; the energy or a body held by the arrangement of the system Chemical; the potential of a chemical substance to undergo a transformation through a chemical reaction Electric: the energy supplied by an electric current Gravitational: energy an object possesses because of its position in a gravitational field. It is energy stored within a physical system as a result of the position of the different parts of that system Thermal: the internal energy of an object due to the kinetic energy of its molecules Energy Sources in the UK: Gas accounted of 46 % of electricity supplied in 2008. Gas is also used to heat approximately 70% of homes. Coal-fired power stations provide approximately 31% of the UK’s electricity. Nuclear power provides about 14% of electricity but most UK nuclear plans are due to close in the next decade Renewables sources provided 5.5% of electricity generated in 2008
The RIBA is focused towards reducing the carbon footprint of the building at 66 Portland Place; a statement published on the RIBA website details their recent efforts in reducing energy consumption: “In 2000 the RIBA replaced our aging and inefficient boilers, saving 425 tonnes of CO2 annually. Following this, the Energy Audit carried out in 2006/7 found the RIBA’s CO2 production from energy use to be approximately 600 tonnes annually. The RIBA has subsequently helped our staff to reduce energy use, through simple actions such as switching off electronic equipment at the end of the day and when not in use, and by installing low energy technologies and lighting wherever possible, including motion sensors.
This chart displays the change in energy sources used in the UK from 1960 - 2010. It shows a neglible use of renewable energy until roughly 2000
This represents the percentage of each form of renewable energy from 2010
In 2008 we have changed our electricity supplier for 66 Portland Place to a ‘greener’ provider, Green Energy plc. The even better news is that we have successfully negotiated a deal whereby 100% of our supply will come from renewable sources: ‘via independent smaller scale commercial generators, and generated using small scale hydro, biomass in several forms, gasification of wood chip, used vegetable waste through anaerobic digestion, or animal waste through anaerobic digestion, some wind power and a tiny amount of solar.’” This type of light fitting is found on the staircases between the second floor and the sixth floor, there are eight of them spaced along these staircases. As can be seen in the first photograph to the right, the lightbuld is 16
This graph shows that the cost of one of these lights is £0.82 per month. Therefore, the cost of using 8 of these lights is £6.56 per month. As these are only a fraction of the lights used within the building, it gives just a small indication of the cost of running every light within the RIBA, but finding each light and the respective power of each light would be a near-impossible task for a member of the public. I have taken the hours used per month from the RIBA’s opening hours and assumed these lights are on throughout these times.
Examples of energy on the first floor
Fuse box behind drinks bar
Visual display input
Over head projector and lights
Close up of a lamp
#06 Recycle
Reuse/ Cradle to Cradle
"Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we’ve been ignorant of their value" - R. Buckminster Fuller The RIBA website details a list of ways in which it is trying to reduce its carbon footprint, the following list shows ways in which they have used recycled products to achieve this aim: The stationery within rooms has been changed to recycled paper and pencils made from recycled video tapes Flipcharts in rooms are made from recycled paper and we provide environmentally friendly flipchart markers Everything is either recycled or reused and any residual waste is incinerated to produce energy All booking forms and documentation sent electronically, rather than printing and posting None of our waste goes to landfill from the RIBA headquarters at 66 Portland Place Removal of all staffs waste bins, replaced with communal recycling areas All invoices are sent electronically, rather than printing and posting Double-sided printing policy within the department Electronic filing system
The RIBA is seeking to address our own environmental impact and reduce our carbon footprint. This work is ongoing; however we have made substantial steps in the right direction. We will continue to add information online and make case study material publicly available as we work towards creating a low carbon RIBA. Environmental audit of the RIBA The initial environmental audit of the institute focused on energy, procurement, transport and waste, and assessed our current environmental impact. The audit enabled us to identify the main activities that contribute towards our carbon footprint, and areas where we can make small changes that may have a big impact on our carbon dioxide emissions and our environmental impact. The purpose of this audit was: To review the use of resources within the RIBA headquarters and satellite offices, providing recommendations on how this usage can be reduced or eliminated. To provide a document that can be used as a base point for action and for measurement and evaluation of progress through key performance indicators. To set an example of ‘best practice’ and highlight opportunities for other organisations, architectural firms and RIBA staff to contribute to reducing the impact of climate change on the environment. Following the final results of the audit, we are putting in place a strategy to reduce our emissions. This includes short and long term programme of activity, engaging with our staff and visitors, and reviewing our energy use and procurement.
Waste The RIBA operates a procurement and use policy of Reduce Re-use Recycle. The waste per employee at our offices at 77 Portland Place was deemed by the Environmental Audit to be above good practice, and the waste production at our Headquarters at 66 Portland Place was well within the good practice benchmark. The RIBA has recycling bins within each office area and substantial quantities of recyclable materials are collected each year. However we believe we can do much better and we are exploring strategies to achieve this. To this end we have recently purchased a ‘cardboard bailer’ for our headquarters, and now recycle 100% of the considerable amount of cardboard produced by our business. This has enabled us to reduce our waste to landfill by 5 full paladins a week and relinquish a rented and inefficient compactor, saving us in the region of £4000 a year. Within the City of Westminster, household rubbish is collected at least twice a week; households on Portland Place have their rubbish collect three days a week. These days are Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Furthermore, recycling is collected once a week in Westminster. On Portland Place, this day is Thursday. For commercial businesses, Westminster Council offer a commercial waste scheme which included daily collection of waste, including recycling. This diagram belows shows the destinations of the waste collected within Westminster.
Synthesis 66 Portland Place is a grand, large and open building. There is a strong sense of sincerity and naturalness that emanates from the building. This is shown through the design of the building, such as how it relies on natural lighting, which pours through numerous tall windows rather than artificial lighting. With many high ceilings and open spaces, the building is kept relatively cool throughout the year and relies on passive ventilation rather than mechanical ventilation. The sense of grandeur is upheld by the use of materials throughout the building; the use of Portland Stone, glass and a variety of marbles and woods reinforce the natural feel of the building and allows light that enters the building to reflect off their surfaces, so that many areas seem to resonate with light. One aspect of the design, which proves astatically pleasingly, albeit slightly unnatural is that many of the internal workings, such as the plumbing and guttering are completely removed from view, rendering them hard to find, even when attempting to look for these specific details
Conclusion 66 Portland Place is an Art Deco building that was constructed in the 1930s. The building is still heavily used today and has undergone a number of refirbishments to allow it to accomodate for the daily needs of contemporary users. The building is equipped with a number of large projectors, sound systems and other devices which would certainly not have been part of the original building. Overall the building has been maintained and improved to accomodate for these needs rather succesfully, but I believe that there are a few flaws that could be improved. The first being recycling, it is true that the building supports ecofriendly use and strives to maintain a low carbon footprint. The simple matter is that there are very few bins, let alone recycling bins within the building. I believe that placing more recycling bins aound the building is the simplest yet one of the most effective ways of contributing towards a greener environment. The second issue is that of wasting energy, specifically in relation to lighting. The building relies foremost on natural lighting, and the lights that have been installed contribute very little to the amount of light within the building whilst it is bright outside, yet that fact that most of these lights are left on throughout the day is a useless waste of energy. Perhaps even by installing light sensors so that the lights turn on and off automatically in response to low light would savea great deal of energy. Other than these factors, I find that the RIBA is an enticing building that stands as a striking monument to the Royal Institute of British Architects and houses many small and enchanting details that give the building a unique charm
References 1 http://www.architecture.com/SustainabilityHub/Designstrategies/Air/1-2-1-2-Naturalventilation-stackventilation.aspx 2 http://www.architecture.com/SustainabilityHub/Designstrategies/Air/1-2-1-2-Naturalventilation-stackventilation.aspx 3 http://www.rsc.org/get-involved/hot-topics/drinking-water/why-need-water.asp 4 http://www.unitcare.com.au/bp_strata_maintenance_plumbing_supply.html 5 http://www.thameswater.co.uk/your-account/15734.htm 6 http://www.thameswater.co.uk/your-account/12826.htm 7 http://secure.thameswater.co.uk/thameswaterlive/index.htm 8 http://secure.thameswater.co.uk/dynamic/cps/rde/xchg/corp/hs.xsl/899.htm 9 http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/triple_aqa/water/hard_soft_water 10 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/energy 11 http://www.hi-energy.org.uk/Renewables/Why-Renewable-%20Energy/How-electricity-is-generated-in-the-UK.htm 12 www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/255182/UK_Renewable_Energy_Roadmap_-_5_No vember_-_FINAL_DOCUMENT_FOR_PUBLICATIO___.pdf 13 http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5940/economics/top-energy-sources-in-the-uk/ 14 restats.decc.gov.uk/cms/assets/Uploads/Results_2012/pie12renew.gif 15 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-trends-september-2013 16 http://www.architecture.com/RIBAVenues/ReducingourCarbonFootprint.aspx