time flies, just noticed 10 years as Director of BEAM Society Limited 🤣
10 years
Category Archives: #BEAM
Leading The Pack
The results from the Decarbonising Hong Kong public consultation were published by the Council for Sustainable Development in November 2020, one of the recommendations was energy saving building design.
One of our completed projects was featured in a HKGBC video, the HKUST Indoor Sports Center, Sai Kung, started years ago, but already incorporated energy saving building design.
It was a team effort, the whole team, the client, the engineers, the architect, and the contractor clicked, and delivered a project that scored 80% independently assessed used BEAM PLUS NB rating tool, earn final gold rating. It was challenging because BEAM PLUS NB is designed for a new build, not an extension over an existing building. The result I hope demonstrates and inspires future possibilities.
ABOVE: HKUST Indoor Sports Center
HKUST Indoor Sports Center achieved BEAM PLUS New Buildings Final Gold Certificate with an overall score of 80 points!
John Herbert was the project BEAM Professional, providing BEAM consulting, sustainable building design consultant, lighting consulting, and environmental consultant for the HKUST Indoor Sports Center, Sai Kung, Hong Kong.
#greenbuilding #BEAMPLUS
Embodied Energy Reality
By John Herbert (@johnherbert)
What is the reality in construction?
So, the structural drawings and calculations are complete, the architects drawings are complete, the scheme has been through BD approval process, the MEP engineering drawings are complete, the QS measured quantities and prepared the bill, the contract documents are done, and scheme has been signed off by client.
So now is the perfect time to assess the embodied energy? No, assessing the embodied energy based on completed contract documents is a purely an academic exercise, it’s too late, far too late to influence key decisions that could impact the embodied energy.
Think about it, tools that promoting assessment based on the finished design drawings steals any opportunity to influence choice of materials and therefore options for lowering embodied energy.
learn more about embodied energy and embodied carbon: http://www.kelcroft.com.hk/carbon-embodied-energy.htm
#embodiedenergy
BEAM PLUS Neighbourhood v1 by John A. Herbert
Neighbourhood v1 is the new member of the BEAM suite of rating tools, this tool unlike it predecessors, which examines the final project, Neighbourhood is specifically designed to assess and rate the master planning stage. If the master plan changes another assessment is required.
If you are familiar with BEAM family and NB, you will recognise framework and credits structure, indeed twenty of the credits listed in the following table are similar to (almost copied from) BEAM NB v1.2 credits
About the Author
John A. Herbert is a veteran professional with more than 30 years solid construction experience, educated in the United Kingdom he has been working across Asia for the last two decades, serving international, and local companies. And involved with the development of Hong Kong Green Building for a decade. He is a Hong Kong Registered Energy Assessor (REA), and a BEAM Professional.
Hong Kong outperformed Shanghai and Beijing in green building performance by John A. Herbert
Hong Kong was the highest ranked Chinese city for green building beating out Beijing and Shanghai in study by Solidance funded by Singapore Government.
Hong Kong was ranked 6th, the leading Chinese city, ahead of Beijing and Shanghai, a vindication of Hong Kong’s own independent BEAM green rating rating tool.
BEAM has operating for twenty years, since the first rating tool was issued in 1996, and today, behind the scenes, countless volunteers give up their free time to support Hong Kong community, with little credit and no reward Herbert said. John A. Herbert is a recognised green building expert, a BEAM Professional, and chairman of BEAM Technical Review Panel.
About the Author
John A. Herbert is a veteran professional with more than 30 years solid construction experience, educated in the United Kingdom he has been working across Asia for the last two decades, serving international, and local companies. And involved with the development of Hong Kong Green Building for a decade. He is a Hong Kong Registered Energy Assessor (REA), and a BEAM Professional.
#greenbuilding #hongkong #BEAMPLUS
BEAM award for Mr John A. Herbert – Sept 2015
BEAM 5th year Anniversary Dinner 25 September 2015 by John A. Herbert
BEAM Society Limited (BSL) celebrated its 5th year of incorporation with anniversary dinner on 25 Sept 2015 at the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong. This celebration belies the real age of BEAM, which commenced in 1996, progressed from a committee, into the BEAM society, becoming incorporated as BEAM Society Limited in 2010, and the #greenbuilding movement has steadily grown every year. Perhaps needless to say, but Kelcroft was a table sponsor! with a fantastic group of green building enthusiasts to help support the evening.
Our own director Mr John A. Herbert was honoured to receive a BEAM award, in fact our table had three award winners! with both Mr Michael Arnold, Mr Kevin Edmunds collecting honours.
And of course the group shot to end the festivities:
Hong Kong failing behind Emirate green building standards by John A. Herbert
The construction rules in Dubai UAE have changed commencing 1 April 2015, now they mandate Green cement for ALL construction projects, failing to comply means facing tough punishment, the emirate news website (1) reports:
“Besides depriving them from construction permission, violating companies will be fined,” said Ahmed Al Badwawi, studies director at the municipality.
Clearly the goal is to reduce Carbon emissions for all new building work in the Emirate, but it leaves Hong Kong behind in terms of mandatory green requirements.
(1) http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/dubai-buildings-to-have-friendly-green-cement-2015-03-30-1.585794
BEAM Plus Interiors (BI) Summary ppt
An introduction to BEAM Plus Interiors (BI) by John A. Herbert
EXCEL Spreadsheet BI
Here a free excel credit summary for BEAM Plus Interiors BEAM PLUS Interiors Credit Summary excel format
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Building for BEAM Gold, Kowloon Bay
The HKSAR government tender for a 4,927 sqm commercial site in Wang Chiu Street, Kowloon Bay will close tomorrow, the media is speculating on the estimated tenders. However, interestingly amongst the myriad of the usual conditions of sale that accompany government lands sales is the requirement to attain Provisional Gold or above Rating for all building(s) on the site. However, they set the bar very low, a “provisional” rating is hardly difficult task, it is a shopping list of commitments, and there is no guarantee that those promised green features will be implemented.
The new development will have 120 metre height limitation, but will dwarf its elderly neighbours which were capped to suit the flight path of the former Kai Tak Airport.
