Non-domestic building designs incorporating passive energy systems.

A series of design studies is being sponsored by the Department of Energy to investigate the practical application of passive solar technology in non-domestic buildings. The first set of eight studies managed by Ove Arup is complete and two further sets managed by Halcrow Gilbert Associates (HGA) and Building Design Partnership are under way. These studies illustrate the opportunities to produce marketable low energy designs in which the architectural form plays the major role in generating a comfortable internal environment. The studies also show that such designs need cost no more than their conventional counterparts.