October 29, 2024

The arrival of UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard (UK NZCBS) could mark the construction industry’s transition from design and construction to basic compliance with a host of regulations that provide exemplary but achievable operational performance standards.

However, achieving ambitious results-based performance requires a methodology to avoid the emergence of a performance gap between initial design intentions and operational results. THE RIBA Use Plan Guide details the activities at each stage of work that are necessary to keep design intentions on track to achieve the desired results.

The guide is integrated into the RIBA Work Plan 2020 and RIBA recommends using it as part of standard processes on all projects.

The guide is also considered complementary to the Guide to sustainable resultswhich provides key indicators, design principles and verification methods for each of the main results.

Just as sustainable outcomes can be referenced and used upfront and at presentation to become the first action in the utilization plan, the NZCBS will increasingly be referenced to establish performance outcomes.

What is the Usage Plan guide?

Plan for Use is RIBA’s interpretation of the soft landing framework produced by the Usable Buildings Trust and Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA) to encourage a more results-oriented approach to briefing, design, construction and handover. BSRIA describes Soft Landings as both a construction delivery process and a project performance improvement process, which should occur throughout a project from conception through completion and beyond .

The Usage Plan Guide identifies the activities required at each stage of RIBA’s work and explains how to apply the Usage Plan across different contract forms. The guide includes case studies to illustrate practical applications across a range of projects, sectors and scales.

The usage plan can be treated as a Work plan layer in methodologies to use at each stage. For example, to avoid the emergence of an energy performance gap, Plan for Use calls for periodic review of energy modeling beyond RIBA Stage 2 and fine-tuning of building systems at Stage 7 to achieve the initial objectives.

As clients increasingly demand net-zero carbon buildings, it is expected that continuous energy modeling will increasingly feature in professional discussions.

The aim will be to ensure that performance objectives are revisited and reality checked during detailed design and that any variations do not compromise these objectives.

What does the Usage Plan guide contain?

The usage plan can be divided into three areas:

• Set realistic and measurable goals

The client, design team, and end users are expected to focus more on defining outcomes or performance goals within the project brief. This includes measurable values ​​on energy consumption, embodied and operational carbon, water and waste as well as “softer” measures such as user comfort and well-being.

• Comprehensive utilization activity plan

The activities outlined in the Use Plan guide will help ensure that design and construction are capable of achieving the agreed objectives. These should be revised as necessary, as understanding of the design and client requirements develops over the course of a project.

A performance risk record is used to manage aspects of design, procurement and construction that could adversely affect the effective operation of the building in use, and to review progress made in mitigating these risks.

There are commitments to measure and evaluate the performance of the building used to understand the extent to which objectives have been achieved; allow the building and its services to be refined; and provide valuable learning to inform future projects.

Find out more about the importance of the UK standard for net zero carbon buildings

What is post-occupancy evaluation?

A key aspect of the utilization plan is the post-occupancy evaluation (POE). There are many RIBA guidelines that architects can follow in this area, including:

From the start of the project, the architect or project manager is usually best placed to initiate a conversation with the client, explaining how the utilization plan works and the key benefits, including increased occupant satisfaction and productivity, Lower operating costs and reduced carbon emissions.

Although the benefits of the utilization plan will be maximized when adopted as early as possible (Stage 0 or Stage 1), with some types of procurement the opportunity may not arise until later, for example when an architect joins a project at stage 4. Despite this, adopting the utilization plan will still be useful.

Download the RIBA usage plan.

Text by Neal Morris. This is a professional feature published by the RIBA Practice team. Send us your comments and ideas

RIBA Core Curriculum Topic: Sustainable Architecture.

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