Tai Hollingsbee is Senior Mechanical Engineer with Halcrow Yolles, one of the world’s leading consulting engineering practices. As a specialist in building physics, Tai is at the forefront of efforts to make low energy design a fundamental aspect of all buildings.

Building physics

Building physics is the scientific interrogation of building design to quantify its performance in terms of energy use, occupant comfort and resource use.

The UK construction industry is one of the country’s biggest businesses – worth c. £80bn per year. Buildings are also the largest single source of C02 – generated when the materials used in construction are manufactured and transported; when the building is put up and operated across its lifespan; and when it is demolished. At every stage there is the opportunity to apply new technologies and innovative thinking to make buildings far more sustainable.

Tai and his team recently worked on the new British High Commission building in Nigeria, a project which allowed them to put many of their latest ideas on sustainable design into practice. The architect is RTKL, based in London.

Designing for energy efficiency

Detailed computer analysis of heat build-up and air-flow helped them use concrete to control temperature shifts and reduce the need for air conditioning. A ‘thermal labyrinth’ beneath the floor of the atrium traps cooler, night time air which is then used to cool incoming air during the day.

This was a practical application of a simple technique which has been used for thousands of years – but been largely abandoned in the era of modern material use and air conditioning.

Building physics and a ‘back to first principles’ approach also informed the the number, size and positioning of windows: letting the maximum amount of natural light into the building was important as it would reduce the need for interior lighting. On the other hand, windows allow solar energy into the building whilst also absorbing heat from the sun (solar gain), increasing the need for (energy hungry) air-conditioning.

Tai’s solution was, again, elegantly simple – a system of external shades, designed with great precision in order to minimise heat build-up without cutting interior light levels.

The High Commission building is now being considered for the industry’s highest efficiency rating, the BREEM Excellent award.

Learn more about sustainable construction

New techniques to make construction more environmentally-friendly are now being developed. Read more about sustainable construction methods.