Woods Hardwick's top picks of the Environment and Energy Awards 2011 winners

Providing sustainable yet aesthetically pleasing designs are key factors in the  success and longevity of any architects and development consultants in this modern day, especially given the coalition’s Zero Carbon 2016 targets. Staying up-to-date with the latest innovations within the industry is paramount, and now more than ever, a necessity in order to stay at the top of your game.  So, with that in mind, who and what were announced on the evening of Tuesday 24th May 2011 at this year’s awards ceremony that could be incorporated into the architecture world? With the organisers proudly announcing the ‘record number of entries to the 2011 awards, an increase of 46% on 2010’, the bar had been set for some impressive energy-saving products and technologies. We’re pleased to say, they didn’t disappoint.  Our top pick is the Innovation Award for Environmental Technology, awarded to Daikin UK for their Daikin Altherma Flex Type air- to-water heat pump. In addition to  being the world’s first heat pump for multiple occupancy buildings, it’s also the first system to allow independent control and billing of heating and hot water systems within each individual dwelling. The whole building system is powered from community-based outdoor units, each of which can serve up to ten individual dwellings, making it a perfect solution for schools, apartment blocks, offices and such like. Having used heat pumps in some of our designs, most recently in the award-wining Partis Office Building in Milton Keynes, Woods Hardwick are particularly interested in this new technology. The client of the BREEAM Excellent Partis building has reported significant reduced running costs and energy savings, so is the Dalkin Altherma Flex Type heat pump really that much better? Well, the statistics Dalkin report are certainly impressive - a 27% reduction in primary energy use, 59% fewer CO2 emissions and 33% lower operating costs compared with an installation of standard efficiency individual gas boilers. Certainly a product to investigate further and compare with the efficiency of our tried and tested heat pumps. Next up is the Energy Product/Service Award, given to Pudsey Diamond Engineering for their stand-alone innovation, Solaboll, a solar powered, retroreflective, self-righting bollard; such a simple idea but one with huge energy and cost saving potential. Indeed, Pudsey Diamond Engineering state that if all the 400,000 existing lit bollards in the UK were exchanged for the Solaboll™ solar powered bollard, a saving of £9 million could be achieved across the board. You can’t argue with that!What’s really exciting about this product is the scope it presents for significantly reducing energy requirement and costs for other forms of lighting. Clearly, traffic cones are not something architects normally need to incorporate into their designs, but product aside, what about the process used? How was the end product achieved? Is does beg the question, is this the catalyst for solar powered external light fittings and building lighting? It’s also worth mentioning Queen’s University, Belfast, winner of the Innovation Award for Remediation Technology, for their particularly innovative and inspirational technology. Based upon a thorough understanding of the biogeochemical principles of Arsenic fate and transport in groundwater, it takes into consideration the technical and financial constraints of the areas of the world where Arsenic groundwater contamination is a significant human health risk. Extremely credible technology that could make a big difference, but still in its infancy, so we’ll have to ‘watch this space’. These winners are only a selection of the full list (to view the list in its entirety, go to www.sustainabilitylive.com), but definitely stand out as having great potential in the architectural world, and most importantly, in significantly reducing energy requirements and costs. We will certainly be watching their progress and maybe incorporating into our designs soon.