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.

Building services represent a significant planning and cost factor on any building project, so it is essential to provide a fully integrated design solution that is delivered on time, on budget and which embraces the latest technology. Buro Happold is recognised within the industry as one of the UK’s leading international building services consultants. Designed to provide optimum levels of occupant comfort all year round, our MEP systems set a new benchmark for efficiency and sustainability. As a major global player we have completed projects in a wide range of locations, always making sure we adhere to the codes and standards of the host country.

To achieve the most appropriate solution we adopt a holistic approach, considering all aspects of the design process from ‘abstract’ issues such as occupant wellbeing to the detailed analysis of mechanical components and the impact of environmental regulations on the building’s form and energy usage. Using sound building physics principles and advanced modelling techniques to analyse the envelope and spatial layout, our systems are integrated into the building fabric to create functional internal spaces and balanced, controllable conditions.

With buildings responsible for over 40% of all energy consumption, sustainable design is now top of the regulatory and corporate agenda. Buro Happold has significant expertise in the design of environmentally responsible buildings. Our approach is to ‘design out’ active systems wherever possible in favour of passive internal control methods such as natural ventilation, external shading and thermal mass. Working as part of a team we are able to balance our client’s aspirations with engineering (and budgetary) constraints to design high performance, low energy building systems.

We adopt a holistic approach, considering all aspects of the design process

Future flexibility for any changes of use is something that always needs to be considered both in terms of the engineering systems and commercial viability. To add value to a project we can carry out a whole life costing of the systems and utilities to assess ongoing and initial costs of maintenance, repair, servicing and operation, as well as social and environmental costs.  This process can help the design team and the client choose between alternative designs, systems and strategies and so achieve cost control and certainty right from the start. 

Building services systems set the parameters for the operational efficiency of a building and the ‘quality’ of its internal environment.

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Project

27/09/2011

Elegantly placed in the rural Arkansas landscape, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a series of seven concrete, glass and wood pavilions set along a stream bed. Within the complex are permanent and temporary galleries, a library, meeting areas, an auditorium, indoor and outdoor areas for public events, sculpture gardens and walking trails.

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News

13/01/2012

Designed by architectural practice Morphosis, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas is approaching the final stages of construction and this latest image from the site highlights the progress to date. Buro...

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News

09/01/2012

“Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier.”  Charles Kettering, inventor, engineer, businessman. I am often asked what platform or format we work in, to which my usual response is "all of...

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News

31/10/2011

Surrounded by 120 wooded acres, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is set to open on 11.11.11. Comprised of a series of eight concrete, glass, and wood pavilions set along two spring-fed ponds in Northwest Arkansas, this...

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Video

27/10/2011

News

21/10/2011

Consultancy wins prestigious annual engineering award in the Office category for the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) International multidisciplinary engineering consultancy Buro Happold announces that the United...

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Project

21/10/2011

Located in the Diplomatic Quarter on the northwest perimeter of Riyadh stands Tuwaiq Palace, a complex originally designed as a diplomatic club but now used by the Saudi government as a hospitality centre. The demands of the...

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News

30/06/2011

Engineering consultancy wins National Certificate of Recognition for Santa Monica refurb project Buro Happold is celebrating winning a National Certificate of Recognition from the American Institute for Steel (AISC) for...

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News

10/06/2011

Buro Happold delivers stunning new museum on banks of River Clyde From the smooth metallic sheen of the curved and pleated roof, down to the floor designed to take the weight of a steam train, the engineering design for...

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Forum Steglitz Thumbnail

Project

27/05/2011

Originally built in 1974, the Forum Steglitz shopping centre is situated in one of Berlin’s busiest multi-functional shopping and service areas. With a footfall of approximately 10 million visitors a year the shopping centre also...

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Louvre Abu Dhabi Thumbnail

Project

26/05/2011

In March 2007, the Tourist Development and Investment Company of Abu Dhabi announced that a new Louvre Museum would be completed in the city of Abu Dhabi by 2012. The new museum’s dramatic domed roof is undoubtedly the strongest...

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Riverside Museum of Transport Thumbnail

Project

26/05/2011

The new Riverside Museum, Scotland’s Museum of Transport and Travel, is located on a dramatic site at the point where two rivers, the Clyde and the Kelvin meet, close to Glasgow Harbour. As well as providing a permanent home for collections not previously on public display, the new museum exhibits the contents of the old Glasgow Museum previously held at Kelvin Hall. Kelvin Hall was the second most visited attraction of its type in the UK, with half a million visitors a year, so the new Riverside Museum is well placed to become a world-class cultural destination.

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Project

26/05/2011

Inspired by folklore, the Polish Pavilion has a striking façade that features a number of inclined surfaces designed to resemble folded paper, cut out in a folk art design. Reflecting the main theme of the Expo – ‘Better City,...

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Clarence Dock Thumbnail

Project

26/05/2011

Dating from the 19th Century. Clarence Dock was originally constructed to transport goods to and from the centre of Leeds, particularly coal from the collieries in Wakefield and Rothwell, which was then distributed to heavy...

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Project

26/05/2011

The University of Salford is committed to the Campus Plan 20-year vision that is contributing to the wider regeneration of the city of Salford. The plan aims to provide a sustainable, accessible place for students and staff to...

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Project

25/05/2011

Completed in July 2006, Palestra was constructed as a speculative commercial office building, aimed to appeal to the high end of the London office market. The original project was designed by Alsop architects, with Buro Happold...

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Bard Center for Science and Computation Thumbnail

Project

23/05/2011

The Bard Center for Science and Computation is a dynamic, interactive workspace located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The stunning curved structure is the new academic hub of the campus, with facilities that will draw...

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News

07/12/2010

The Robert Burns Birthplace museum opens it doors to the public Scotland has a new national visitor attraction, the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway, Ayrshire, which is hoped will attract visitors from around...

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News

07/10/2010

Buro Happold delivers sustainable solutions for Napier’s new Sighthill campus World renowned Napier University in Edinburgh can now boast a state of the art Faculty of Health, Life and Social Sciences with learning,...

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News

10/08/2010

Buro Happold completes conversion of Victorian fish market to artist studios One of Glasgow’s best loved buildings and architectural gems has been given a new breath of life. The Briggait Building, a late nineteenth...

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News

08/04/2010

Major refurbishment for 1960s hotel The newly opened Radisson SAS Iveria Hotel in Tbilisi, the capitol of Georgia, has laid the foundation for future commercial development in the region. Over the last four years the...

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Discipline Director

Neil

Neil Billett

Partner


Regional Leaders

UK

Andy

Andy Keelin

Partner


Central Europe

Ian

Ian Booth

Partner


North America

Michael

Michael McGough

Principal


Asia-Pacific

David

David Littler

Director


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