Approaching Environmental Issues in Architecture: A Case Study of a Design Process in Practice

The research presented here takes its point of departure in the design process with a specific focus on how it is approached when designing energy efficient architecture. This is done through a case-study of a design process in a Danish architectural office. This study shows the importance of having a clear strategy about how to work with optimizing the energy efficiency in the building from the first stages of the design process. It is not just a task that can be addressed by the engineers when a concept has been developed and approved by the client. It requires architects and engineers to address it from the beginning and work actively with it, but it also requires the client to state it clearly in the brief. From this study, it is evident that the work with energy efficiency requires us to focus on the formal framework for the design process. It must allow and support a multi-disciplinary design process from the beginning to address the challenges when designing energy efficient buildings.