My first Publication Arup_BuildingDesign2020_v2 | Page 46

Australian think-tank Beyond Zero Emissions
partnered with the University of Melbourne’s
Energy Institute to release a report detailing
how existing buildings can be retrofitted to
reduce their energy use by half, potentially
reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2020.
Case Study: Climate Shifted Energy Modeling
The Zero Carbon Buildings plan focuses
on whole-building retrofit, touching on
insulation, draft proofing, window glazing,
shading, roof paint, cooling systems and
air handling units as key areas for energy
reduction. Released in parallel with a report
demonstrating how Australia can generate
100% of its electricity from renewable sources
by 2020, these ambitious public planning
documents reflect the critical interest in
climate adaptation and sustainability across
the traditional building design client base.
Location / Business: Melbourne, Australia.
University of Melbourne / Beyond Zero
Emissions for public use.
and usage contexts is enabling the application of big data
to entire systems. City-scale operations, such as resource
management, energy production and distribution, as
well as infrastructure and transit functions, will play a
proportionately larger role in the work of designers in the
coming decades.
Case Study: Zero Carbon Buildings Plan
City Dashboard is a website displaying
real-time visual data gathered from a
variety of free and open sources throughout
London. The user-configurable site presents
weather, traffic and news, but can be used
to monitor granular climatological, transit
and sociological indicators such as pollutant
levels, traffic loads and aggregate
citywide mood.
One of a number of similar “heads-up
displays” that leverage open-source and
crowdsourced data to allow urban residents
new perspective on their surroundings,
City Dashboard speaks to the wealth of
data available to users and a desire for its
meaningful presentation. “Citizen reporting”
open-source aggregation platforms of this
type allow urban residents to be better
informed about a range of issues affecting
their city, potentially improving transit choices,
health outcomes, and the urban experience
as a whole.
Location / Business: London, UK.
Oliver O’Brien / JISC for public use.
flexibility at the programmatic level, effectively designing for
the ability to retrofit existing spaces to reflect future changes in
user specifications with minimal cost and energy expenditure.
Increased awareness and availability of environmental,
demographic, and building performance data will enable
designers and operations specialists to effectively anticipate
future trends and adapt accordingly.
Climate Data and Adaptation Planning
Building design 
is more than a matter of designing for optimal
performance in ideal conditions; successful designs must
withstand unforeseeable circumstances that may limit their
functionality. Designing resilient buildings requires careful
selection of building sites and design schemes to enhance
survivability, ensure continued functionality and reduce risk.
Beyond climate-related resilience, adaptation planning
includes designing spaces for physical flexibility in the
longer-term future. Solutions for adaptable buildings and
infrastructure exist at every scale, ranging from responsive
shading systems that adjust dynamically throughout the day, to
46
Building Design 2020
47