A unique sustainable masterplanning tool is being launched by leading engineering consultancy Hilson Moran, in conjunction with Dr Husam Al Waer and Professor Derek Clements-Croome from Dundee and Reading Universities.
After eight years of development, the SuBET masterplanning tool offers a comprehensive, international, sustainable rating scheme and assessment tool that evaluates the sustainable design and performance of a major masterplan. It provides a valuable framework for masterplanning right from the start, incorporating not just the environmental aspects of sustainability, but also the social and economic impacts created by the design of a built environment project.
[UKPRwire, Sun Sep 06 2009] Hilson Moran’s Director of Sustainability, Matt Kitson, explained: “This powerful tool offers a real breakthrough in sustainable masterplanning. It enables us to analyse over 70 different indicators of sustainability at the very inception of a project and to assess a proposed masterplan using bespoke weightings for environmental stewardship, economic growth and socio-cultural impact, according to the particular development’s and country’s priorities.”
This highly-sophisticated, sustainable masterplanning tool integrates a much wider range of considerations into the masterplanning mix, including the influence of urban form on climate, energy, water and waste impacts.
It analyses the varying impacts of urban makeup on employment, optimised land use and the development of multi-functional landscapes and mixed-use centres. The details of street design and the creation of social hubs are integrated as crucial elements in the overall sustainability of masterplanning.
The groundbreaking tool has been developed by world-class specialists in the built environment: Matthew Kitson, Director of Sustainability at Hilson Moran; Dr Husam Al Waer, Lecturer in Sustainable Architecture and Director of the Sustainability Assessment Research Group at the University of Dundee; and Professor Derek Clements-Croome, Director of the Intelligent Buildings Research Group at the University of Reading. Former Vice-President of CIBSE, Derek is also chair of CIBSE’s Intelligent Buildings Group and Natural Ventilation Group and is on the board of the British Council for Offices.
Hilson Moran, together with Dr Al Waer and Professor Clements-Croome, developed SuBET to evaluate every aspect of the built environment including infrastructure, masterplanning and the performance of new or refurbished buildings in use. The tool was developed in order to:
• Establish a common language
• Set a standard local measurement
• Promote integrated design
• Recognise environmental leadership
• Encourage stakeholder involvement
• Identify building life-cycle impact
• Raise awareness of sustainable urban planning benefits
SuBET will become a central part of Hilson Moran’s approach to sustainability across the global urban environment. Hilson Moran’s Sustainability team advocates sustainable masterplanning and environmental impact assessments as an active and integral part of the design process, rather than as a retrospective labelling exercise.
The tool will be used by Hilson Moran to provide the highest level of analysis for its clients into the multiple impacts of masterplanning design. These results will then be independently verified by both Dr Husam Al Waer and Professor Derek Clements-Croome, in order to deliver best practice in sustainability for clients worldwide.
Issued by Shere Marketing on behalf of Hilson Moran. For further information on the SuBET tool, please contact Giulia Draycott on 01483 828616 / 07887 951 323, or Charmaine Kimpton on 01483 209305 or ckimpton@sheremktg.co.uk.
