Rodrigues Associates is committed to sustainable design.

We specify the use of sustainable materials wherever possible, whilst employing the latest technologies and using a combination of traditional and modern construction techniques. Sustainability is our primary consideration and allows the practice to pursue a cost effective and structurally efficient design philosophy.

For buildings, the supporting structure is the predominant environmental load by materials but through the whole life of a building the environmental impact of a building is mainly during its use as a result of their heating, lighting and cooling. Its structure only accounts for a small part of the embodied energy of the building.

Designing structures with energy efficiency in mind can assist in reducing the embodied waste and in-use energy costs of building through its lifetime, such as the use of concrete to reduce the energy consumption, waste, and emissions of a building by utilising its thermal mass properties; specifying FSC timber where appropriate as a sustainable low-carbon alternative to steel as it uses less energy in its production; but steel is extremely long lasting and can be recycled indefinitely without loss of property or performance to the material.

In order to generate more sustainable development there is a need to focus on solutions to improve environmental performance and during the construction process consider the whole life of a building.




MATERIALS

Concrete
Steel
Timber
Masonry & brickwork