BRE EP99 PDF

PREFACE

Masonry buildings have inherent durability that has been proved over thousands of years. They offer aesthetic appeal, strength, resistance to fire and to the elements, and allow the maintenance of a suitable indoor environment, both acoustically and thermally.

The early part of the twenty-first century has seen a significant move away from traditional approaches to building, with the UK government choosing to promote modern methods of construction (MMC) as a means of addressing the chronic need for new housing. In some cases, MMC is being put forward as a more sustainable solution in terms of an ability to offer improved energy efficiency and the fact that some prefabricated systems use renewable resources. The high levels of energy needed to manufacture the most common materials used to construct masonry buildings are often cited by advocates of MMC as the main reason that masonry is ‘unsustainable', along with claims that the sector does not possess the skill base to provide the quantity of buildings currently being demanded.

In response, the masonry sector has formed the Modern Masonry Alliance to extol the virtues of masonry construction against newer, unproved prefabricated construction systems. While arguing that the government's case is a flawed and extremely short-sighted response to the problem in hand when measured against the current and probable future requirements for completed buildings, the masonry sector has also been forced to come forward with new ideas to counter claims that masonry is an outmoded form of construction. This book examines the ways in which the masonry sector can demonstrate that it has the capability to produce sustainable buildings that not only match the environmental targets set by the government, but also go beyond them, and by doing so create masonry buildings that have the lowest possible impact on the environment, both now and for many future generations. The book considers the following four major areas:

1. Are manufacturers of materials used for masonry ensuring that their production methods have the minimum possible impact on the environment, and can they do more in this respect?

2. What can the designers/specifiers of masonry buildings do to ensure that the masonry has the minimum possible impact on the environment, both now and for future generations, while also ensuring that Building Regulations can be met by both the initial build and future refurbishment?

3. Are common methods of masonry construction tangible options for the future when taking into account our changing climate and the quest for optimum levels of sustainability? If not, what are the alternatives?

4. Does government guidance and planning legislation do enough to encourage the construction of sustainable masonry buildings in terms of the effect their initial construction has on the environment? In light of these buildings' ability to achieve a significant lifespan, is the achievement of enduring aesthetic appeal in terms of vernacular and style adequately encouraged?

If the masonry sector now pauses to consider new ways to meet these four objectives, instead of following a path by which the increasing requirement for insulation dictates the form of masonry structures, it has the capability to ensure that masonry maintains its position as the most common and widely respected form of construction known to man.