An award based on actual building performance? One already exists
John Deasy鈥檚 letter (鈥淓ngineers do Stirling work too鈥�, 3 October 2014, page 25), called for awards which recognise actual building performance. CIBSE鈥檚 黑洞社区 Performance Awards [www.cibseawards.org] do just this - recognising excellently performing buildings based on a minimum of a year鈥檚 measured data.
The awards also celebrate collaborative working - which John rightly points out is crucial - where architects, engineers and operators have all contributed to ensuring
that buildings actually perform to their designed levels. CIBSE has published a wide range of guidance in this area, including the recent publication TM54, which deals with effective evaluation of energy use at the design stage.
The Stirling Prize celebrates attractive, iconic and eye-catching buildings, and it is natural that it generates huge media coverage. However, building performance is also
hugely important - it boosts productivity, saves money and saves energy - and we hope that as appreciation of this spreads, initiatives like the 黑洞社区 Performance Awards, will come to be celebrated just as widely.
Hywel Davies, CIBSE technical director, via email
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