The Government is taking the first steps to making all new secondary schools opened after 2016 zero carbon, Children’s Secretary Ed Balls has announced.
Mr Balls confirmed that the highly respected architect Robin Nicholson will chair in an expert task force, first proposed in the Children’s Plan last December and announced the group’s formal terms of reference.
The task force, which meets today, will advise ministers on reaching the long-term goal that all new school buildings should produce no carbon emissions at all from their day-to-day use.
It will launch a call for evidence later this summer and give ministers firm recommendations on the way forward by the end of the year.
Buro Happold’s Andrew Cripps is a member of the new body. Andrew leads the sustainability group at Buro Happold, engaging with a wide range of projects of all shapes and sizes. The work includes energy and sustainability strategies for buildings and masterplans, design for renewable energy systems, delivery of projects to meet BREEAM and other performance requirements, and advice on selection of materials.
His team includes a strong research element developing expertise on alternative technologies, and feeding back measured performance data into the design process. As well as contributing to the design of many schools, he led the delivery of the cardboard building at Westborough School, Westcliff on Sea, and has recently ended his term as a Parent Governor.
