Case studies

Case studies form a key part of this research project. The project team will carry out a minimum of 24 case studies, 12 in each Euro region. The case studies will cover a mixture of domestic, commercial and public buildings. A selected number of buildings in the regions with sustainable design features will be identified, studied, assessed and evaluated. The information gathered and reports generated from the case studies will be widely disseminated.

Case study is considered as the most effective means for achieving the aim and objectives of this project. This can be illustrated by some of the key outcomes as shown in the following table:

Project objective	Key outcomes of case studies
Identify current practice and the key organisations and businesses involved in built environment influencing sustainable development	Demonstrate current practice of good sustainable development examples in the regions Identify practicing and influencing players including local government departments, designers, suppliers, manufacturers, experts, businesses and organisations in the regions
Establish databases of regional professional expertise, sources of regional sustainable products and resources.	A valuable database of regional practicing professionals, experts, sustainable products, businesses, resources and design information Extension of further links, contacts and information provided from practicing players in sustainable development
Determine and disseminate regional best practice for sustainable development and management of the built environment	Identify and disseminate the current state of the art of sustainable development and management in the regions Informative assessment and evaluation of the regional best practice
Develop and build on the outcomes of the INTERREG II ARTEPA project, a network of regional centres for research, transfer of technology and dissemination of best practice for sustainable development in the built environment	Existing members of the INTERREG II ARTEPA network will continue to engage in the case studies A very wide range of contributors in regional sustainable development will be captured through the case studies A wealth of information, technology, expertise, examples, assessment and evaluation appropriate to the regional sustainable design and option
Develop a web based unified centre of excellence as a bilingual portal for the collaborative dissemination	Centre of excellence providing information relevant to the regions Allow easy comparison and transfer of technology

The case studies will demonstrate the application of regional sustainable design and options in the built environment. A systematic approach will be adopted to establish structured and generic framework of such design and options. A wide selection of existing regional sustainable design solutions will be studied, including e.g. solar technology, water recycling, low embodied energy materials and smart control in low energy buildings. The studies will take into account the life cycle of the buildings from the design, construction, and occupation through to demolition. The impact of sustainable design on the indoor environment will also be addressed.

Apart from the project team members, the participants of the case studies will involve appropriate members of the design team, the construction team, the suppliers and the building users. The performance of sustainable design solutions will be monitored, measured, assessed and evaluated using appropriate software, equipment and procedure. The assessment and evaluation will include:

Environmental impact of buildings
Environmental impact of products
Impact on the indoor environment

The techniques used in the case study will include, as appropriate:

Site visits
Meetings with project team
Evaluation and assessment by computer software
Laboratory based testing of products
On site monitoring and measurement of energy use
On site monitoring and measurement of indoor environment

Results of case studies will be reported to the project team and will be widely disseminated bilingually through this web site.

Click here to view case study reports