Rio Architects Designed UK's Greenest Building in Leeds

Innovate Green Office designed by Rio Architects in Leeds is called the UK's greenest building as it achieved the highest ever BREEAM rating of 87.5 percent last year. The project includes even a single renewable technology and exemplifies what a passive design can achieve, ranging from first principles – orientation, exploitation of thermal mass, optimization of plan depth and building section to maximize daylight, and a heavily insulated covering. 

 
Author Hattie Hartman says…………

To maximize daylight penetration, the building is sited east-west rather than the north-south orientation typical of many sustainable projects. South-facing buildings require large overhangs to screen out the midday sun, but these sunscreens block out much useful daylight on cloudy days. With an east-west orientation, morning sun is not a problem and the effect of the strong afternoon sun is controlled by the thermal mass which delays internal temperature increases until the close of the working day.

Details about this innovative building at Rio's website.