Buildings

Buildings define us; our lives are intertwined with the built environment. Far from simply providing the physical fabric in which we grow, buildings share the ambitions and dreams of people and are a lasting testament to past and future generations.

Sage Music Centre, Gateshead

Sage Music Centre, Gateshead

At Buro Happold we have the confidence and experience to ask ‘What if....?’.

We help our clients achieve more than they knew was possible. Our designs are approached with a level of rigour that encompasses the finest detail to the broad lateral thinking required to find original solutions for every client. As a result, our buildings are relevant and desirable; they can transform the landscape or blend seamlessly into the existing environment.

Using a holistic approach, our multidisciplinary teams collaborate to optimise design to ensure that our buildings “touch the earth lightly”. Our passion for creating sustainable buildings is at the heart of what we do – we seek to achieve more by using less, applying our imagination and our experience to every opportunity that comes our way. Our aim is to improve people’s lives through our work.

We have the confidence to ask 'What if....?'

Whether looking at the fabric of a building, its internal environment or its effective operation, our wealth of experience allows us to create awe inspiring innovative buildings the world over.  So if you want an iconic museum housing the worlds most precious artefacts in the desert, if you want to create a stadium that can be demountable and reused in another part of the country or if you want to revitalise a derelict wasteland into a treasured resource loved by the community, at Buro Happold the answer is “yes, we can do it. Now what if...?”

Building Environments

  • Acoustics

    Acoustics is integral to the successful design and ‘experience’ of a building. There is plenty of compelling evidence to show that the internal environment affects human health, communication and productivity.

  • Building services engineering

    Our innovative design solutions embrace the latest technologies to improve a building’s performance and sustainability. Integrated building services systems create a balanced and controllable internal environment; natural ventilation, heating and lighting systems are combined with active systems, such as air conditioning, to provide a high level of comfort and operational efficiency.

  • Computational analysis

    Using sophisticated 3D computer simulations and modelling we analyse factors such as external wind effects, thermal and environmental performance, energy consumption, internal airflow and fire and smoke movement.

  • Lighting

    Lighting is a key factor in dictating the appearance, ambience and functionality of a building and its surrounding landscape. An integral part of the architecture, it needs to satisfy the client’s aspirations and the designer’s vision, but also deliver the appropriate technical performance for the space.

  • Sustainability

    Our sustainability teams provide consulting and analytical support for our global building, masterplanning and management consulting streams. The interdisciplinary team includes sustainability, low carbon and environmental modelling consultants who provide expert advice based on extensive technical knowledge and the use and development of advanced simulation software.

Building fabric

  • Facades

    The building envelope is a critical area of a building’s design, with the facade engineer playing a vital role in bringing the architect’s vision to life.

  • SMART solutions

    SMART Solutions is Buro Happold’s specialist computational innovation service. The team develops new technologies to deliver efficient solutions for the built environment and beyond.

  • Structural engineering

    Creativity, analysis, ingenuity and a touch of technical genius... we combine all of this to deliver exciting, efficient structures that go beyond expectations. Our unrivalled reputation with architects, contractors and specialists means we can always offer outstanding design solutions and outstanding value.

Planning & operations

  • Asset management

    Buildings are built for people. They’re built to be used, lived in, worked in. What building occupants don’t want to be too concerned with is the management and maintenance of their facilities. Our Asset Management team specialise in providing the processes and to keep your building running smoothly, with the least possible interference.

  • Fire engineering

    Fire engineering is a vital aspect of any building design process. Preventing the spread of fire and ensuring the reliability suppression systems is only part of this necessity. Modeling the behavior of fire and smoke in enclosed spaces is the other.

  • Inclusive design

    Inclusive design at Buro Happold isn’t just about satisfying the requirements of government legislation. We do that anyway, of course, but it goes a lot further. It’s about understanding people; their needs, concerns, and what they really want from a building.

  • IT communications & control

    Technology is everywhere. Without it modern business just wouldn’t work, and the same is true for our buildings. Without IT they just wouldn’t work. It’s that simple. What isn’t as straight forward, however, is making sure that your building has the internal infrastructure to facilitate technology.

  • People movement

    Free uncongested movement of people within built and urban spaces is not only an issue of safety and security, but also of comfort and visitor experience. The building and urban circulation design and management have a direct impact on the visitor experience.

  • Safe & secure

    Safety and security is of paramount importance in the built environment. There’s no point having a building if its occupants aren’t safe. Buro Happold’s Safe and Secure team work to ensure your facility has a sustainably safe environment for its users.

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Key contact

Mike

Mike Cook

Senior Partner & Chairman

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