Developing an Information Support System for Low Carbon Housing Delivery in the United Kingdom

The design stage of low carbon housing delivery in the United Kingdom (UK) is supported by varieties of information. This includes Building Regulations part L1A, Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH), information on different and various types of design and decision support tools and many more.. However, varieties of the information are from different sources such as BEE, DCLG, NHBC, and Carbon Trust. As a result of this, a study comprising mixed method approach of qualitative and quantitative method, of data collection was carried out. The qualitative semi-structured interview was used to investigate the state of art in the use of Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH), being the most recent tool for low carbon housing design and construction in UK And to identify other current information needs of architects towards development of the piloting phase of the proposed system. Past researches, journals and reports on existing low energy design processes in the UK and at international level were then identified to develop the sustainability requirements necessary to the delivery of low carbon housing in the UK. This was followed by the quantitative data collection in form-of an on line survey emailed to sustainable architectural practices recognized from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) directory to investigate the extent and knowledge in the use of all identified information and towards development of the proposed System. The interview result identified deficiency of an informed support for the design while the survey recognized the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) as the latest tool for the delivery which architects in the United Kingdom (UK) lack its expert knowledge. The study is therefore proposing a support system in which the sustainability requirements to achieve the design are acknowledged and CSH is presented in a simplified and easy to use format.