21 June 2017 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal
A project to transform a poorly performing council waste site into a green centre for well-being and sustainability has presented solutions that will help FMs and designers in future, according to the FM group of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE).
The 2017 Green Infrastructure Challenge, which consisted of organisations presenting green solutions to maintenance problems, will have "the most intriguing impact" on facilities managers, "for whom the technology opens up a raft of new options to improve well-being and efficiency", said FM Group vice-chair David Stevens.
The winning plan, presented by Louise Handley of environmental services company Amey, was dealing with a waste site the company had managed and was about to hand back to the council in Slough.
Many of the 1980s building's performance issues, including poor air quality, overheating and low efficiency, were being dealt with without using mechanical infrastructure.
Instead, the scheme used a combination of plant-based solutions such as living walls and roofs to achieve a range of outcomes from improving well-being and staff morale, to reducing flooding and cooling the site.
David Stevens, co-vice chair of the CIBSE Facilities Management Group, said: "As one of the judges behind this challenge, I was blown away by the ambition and versatility of the solutions that the winner presented. It is clear that green infrastructure is now a real option for facilities managers looking for new alternatives."