Key Ingredients for Sustainable Building Design
Philippa Gill
20 years: Real estate investment
What’s the recipe for a great building? Join Philippa Gill as she breaks down smart design, better materials, and circular thinking in the built environment.
What’s the recipe for a great building? Join Philippa Gill as she breaks down smart design, better materials, and circular thinking in the built environment.
Key Ingredients for Sustainable Building Design
12 mins 28 secs
Key learning objectives:
Explore sustainable design principles
Understand sustainable construction practices
Outline circular economy concepts
Overview:
Sustainable design starts at the very beginning of a project, before sketches or technology are involved. Early decisions about building orientation, site placement, and materials dramatically influence energy use, comfort, and long-term sustainability. Sustainable construction focuses on reducing carbon and waste throughout the building process, addressing the complexity of supply chains and the environmental impact of materials and labour.
Summary
What are the principles of sustainable design?
Sustainable design starts at the very beginning of a project, before sketches or technology are involved. Early decisions about building orientation, site placement, and materials dramatically influence energy use, comfort, and long-term sustainability. For example:
- Passive design: Positioning buildings to capture sunlight, encourage natural ventilation, and protect from weather can minimise heating and cooling needs.
- Materials and sourcing: Lifecycle assessment (LCA) helps quantify embodied carbon. Recycled and natural materials, like timber, reduce environmental impact while enhancing aesthetics and usability.
- Community and social impact: Sustainable design also considers the long-term needs of the local community and the building’s contribution to public health, wellbeing, and engagement.
What are the key practices in sustainable construction?
Sustainable construction focuses on reducing carbon and waste throughout the building process, addressing the complexity of supply chains and the environmental impact of materials and labour. Using fewer heavy-polluting materials, modular and off-site construction, robotics, AI, and 3D printing can lower carbon emissions, minimise waste, reduce construction time, and improve quality. Rising material costs and stricter environmental regulations are motivating construction teams to adopt more efficient and sustainable practices. Construction choices also directly affect operational efficiency, adaptability, and resilience of the building over its lifecycle.
How does the circular economy apply to buildings?
The circular economy focuses on designing buildings and fit-outs for longevity, adaptability, and reuse, reducing waste and carbon emissions across the building’s lifecycle. By embracing circular economy principles, the built environment can move from a linear “build-use-dispose” model to a regenerative one, creating spaces that benefit both people and the planet.
Philippa Gill
Philippa joined EVORA Global in January 2020, initially to focus on the expansion into Europe and our Climate Resilience Services. Given her background in private equity real estate, she brings deep knowledge of investment drivers and associated risk factors. She continues to sponsor our Social Wellbeing and EVOLVE education service lines at Executive level, while also providing senior strategic support to a number of Evora’s key global clients.
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