In July 2011 the BRE launched the new BREEAM 2011 scheme. The launch of the new scheme has caused a bit of confusion among the construction industry professionals. In most cases people ask what the difference between BREEAM 2008 and BREEAM 2011 is.
Syntegra Consulting as accredited BREEAM assessors will explain in simple terms the difference between BREEAM 2008 and 2011.
Under BREEAM 2008 there were 9No schemes plus BREEAM bespoke which assessed the buildings that didn’t fall under the 9No schemes criteria. The 9No schemes under BREEAM 2008 were:
- Offices
- Industrial units
- Retail
- Education
- Healthcare
- Multi-residential
- Prisons
- Courts
- Data Centres
Each of the above schemes had its own BREEAM technical manual and assessment criteria. This has now changed with BREEAM 2011 and all the previous separate schemes under BREEAM 2008 have been included in a single, consolidated scheme document containing all ‘new construction’ assessment issues and criteria relevant to the range of schemes assessed using BREEAM 2008 and BREEAM bespoke in the UK. In more detail, the following building types can be assessed under the BREEAM 2011 New Construction technical manual:
Ø Offices
Ø Industrial units
Ø Retail
Ø Schools
Ø Further Education
Ø Higher Education
Ø Healthcare
Ø Multi-residential
Ø Prisons
Ø Courts
Ø Other Building Types
Therefore, BREEAM 2011 will be applicable to the same range of building types covered by the BREEAM 2008 plus “Other Building types”. The BREEAM Other Buildings includes the type of buildings that were previously assessed under BREEAM Bespoke. The scope of the ‘BREEAM 2011 New Construction’ scheme now includes building types previously assessed under BREEAM Bespoke, such as hotels, leisure
centres, places of worship and community buildings. This means that the additional costs for the development of bespoke criteria no longer apply.
The stages of the BREEAM assessment haven’t changed under BREEAM 2011. So, as before the assessment will consist of i) a Pre-assessment study, which should be undertaken at the concept design stage of a project, ii) Design stage assessment /BREEAM Interim certificate and iii) Final assessment/Post construction certificate. From, our experience in order to achieve the desired BREEAM rating, it is crucial to start the BREEAM assessment process from the very early stages of a new construction project. Also, it should be noted that nowadays more and more Local Authorities ask for BREEAM assessments as part of the planning conditions.
For more information on BREEAM 2011, please contact Syntegra Consulting on T: 08450 091625 and Email: mail@syntegra-epc.co.uk