We are delighted to have been awarded the 2018 BREEAM Award in the BREEAM/Ecobuild Champions Award category. This is a brand new category, designed to recognise the work of architectural practices who achieve high performance and positive results working on behalf of BREEAM clients.

Our shortlisting is based on the number of BREEAM certified projects we have been involved in over the last 3 years and the average rating scores attained. Austin-Smith:Lord has an excellent track record in the design of low carbon, energy efficient buildings, with our recently completed BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ buildings including:

Ysgol Ffwrnes Primary School in Llanelli, which was designed and built for Carmarthenshire County Council. This was the first primary school in Wales to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating at design stage. It achieved a score of 85.9% and pushed beyond the BREEAM rating of Excellent required by the Welsh Government to become an exemplar for future school buildings.

South Lanarkshire College’s Low Carbon Teaching Building, which was the first project in the UK to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating for the design stage under the 2014 standards. The building achieved a score of 90.4% at both design and post-construction stages. In addition to Solar PVs, an energy-efficient external envelope and a ground source heat pump, innovative features include solar chimneys, recycled paper insulation, re-used cycle racks from the Commonwealth Games and an integrated bicycle repair station.

Both these projects were shortlisted in the 2017 BREEAM Awards in the Education & Health category.

Graham Ross, Partner at Austin-Smith:Lord said “We’re thrilled to have received this accolade. Austin-Smith:Lord have long championed low carbon, sustainable design so we’re exceptionally proud to have received the inaugural BREEAM/Ecobuild Champions Award for Architecture.

“This recognises the numerous BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and ‘Outstanding’ rated projects we have delivered for a range of clients throughout the UK. We are privileged to have had the opportunity to work with enlightened clients aspiring to integrate highly sustainable building design solutions and we look forward to applying the lessons we’ve collectively learned to enhance our future environment.”