Sustainability and environmental awareness are issues embedded into the operating culture of MBLA through both business and design activities. The working protocols form our Environmental Management System which received ISO 14001:2004 certification in June 2011.
We have a wide knowledge base and experience of sustainable design and construction developed from the many sectors in which we operate. Our expanding capability enables us to offer design solutions exceeding minimum requirements and achieving the highest standards under BREEAM and various other schemes that currently exist. This is achieved through the promotion of a holistic team based approach to building design and construction taking on board ‘’fabric first’’ principles to avoid profligate use of bolt on technologies.
The practice has been at the forefront of sustainable design and energy efficiency since the completion of Homes for Change (1996) which set the standard a decade ahead of legislation and Little Alex (2006) exceeding the Building Regulations requirements of the time and specified to a highly sustainable standard some two years before the existence of The Code for Sustainable Homes.
We now produce schemes that regularly achieve BREEAM ratings of ‘’excellent’’, Code for Sustainable Homes level 4 and EcoHomes ‘’very good’’. Under the right circumstances we believe that these levels can be exceeded and we have the ambition and credentials to make it happen.
We are also keen to promote sustainable design beyond the four walls of the office and to that end MBLA are members of The Green Register; a group of like-minded professionals with the same aspiration. Our Associate, Steve Bradshaw, provides a regional Coordinator role for the register arranging events which promote wider knowledge sharing of sustainable design.
We believe sustainable building principles are a holistic approach addressing social, environmental and economic issues. Not a style or fashion but an enduring set of principles looking at all aspects of construction from site preparation to reuse, recycling and reclamation. Sustainable building considers how construction affects wellbeing and ecosystems. We seek to design buildings and places that are flexible, adaptable, loved and cherished to ensure they have a long serviceable life.
Our Environmental Policy, outlining ‘’Our Designs’’ and ‘’Our Workplace’’ is available to view in the download section.
