BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for masterplanning projects, infrastructure and buildings. It recognises and reflects the value in higher performing assets across the built environment lifecycle, from new construction to in-use and refurbishment.
BREEAM does this through third party certification of the assessment of an asset’s environmental, social and economic sustainability performance, using standards developed by BRE. This means BREEAM rated developments are more sustainable environments that enhance the well-being of the people who live and work in them, help protect natural resources and make for more attractive property investments.
Simons Design is a registered BREEAM Assessor.
In 2008, Professor Behzad Sodagar conducted a Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) in collaboration with architects Simons Design, on a newly refurbished head-office building in Lincoln which we occupied along with Simons Construction and Developments. The findings supported our design activity and recommendations with a wide range of clients for office fitout and refurbishment projects thereafter, including strategies for staff engagement, identifying champions within occupier teams and simplifying monitoring and feedback approaches. In 2017 Professor Sodagar conducted another Post Occupancy Evaluation on the building, which reflected the effectiveness of the changes we had made to adjust the internal building environment based on his earlier evaluation in 2008. The follow up POE highlighted active engagement in the evaluation of the staff using the building, positive user satisfaction, and the potential of adaptive comfort in the work environment. We incorporated the findings of the evaluation in our training for mental health and wellbeing for our staff, allowing us to improve the support we provided for their comfort and wellbeing.
We used the findings of joint research we did with University of Lincoln including the POE of our own head-office as well as the POE of Sustainable Community Building at Hill Holt Wood ten years after completion to assist Simons Design with its other projects. Most notably in a project to review occupant satisfaction and performance one year after occupation with a client of a zero carbon office and archive building (GlaxoSmithKline, Ware) to assist with fine tuning interventions for improved satisfaction.