As an award winning sustainable architectural practice we make environmentally sound, beautiful places to shelter, live and work.
 

 

 

stephen sainsbury architect

 SSa Logo            We undertake the architectural process in the belief that environmentally aware buildings can be luxurious, inspiring and delightful places to live, work and play.  The practice aim is to achieve the highest possible aesthetic return for the lowest achievable ecological impact.

 

 

 

 

EcoCost is our in house ecological impact evaluation system that allows us to

place a comparable accurate environmental copst on materials processes for use in our work

The mathematics is a bit daunting at first glance but rational on following it through.

 

 

           The EcoCost Algorithm

Earth From Space The Blue Marble

EcoCost= La+To+Ec+Td+b   + Re x RE

                    Longevity 

 

Expressed in Gaia units as a proportion of the planetary capacity 

 

Where      La            =              S   Land Degradation Evaluations 

                To           =              S  Toxic Output Impact Evaluations 

                Ec            =              Energy Consumption x Energy Production EcoCost 

                Td            =              Transport Distance x Transport EcoCost  

                b              =              Itinerant Impacts 

                Re            =              Recycled / Reused proportion factor 

                ReE          =              EcoCost of recycled / reused portion. 

                 Longevity                =                   Life of material       .        

                                                                Expected Building Life 

       and 

 

  i)             Energy Production EcoCost   =  LaE + ToE   +  CeE                

Where       

                LaE*  = S Land Degradation caused by energy production and fuel per MJ  

                ToE*  =   S Toxic Output Impact engendered in energy production per MJ 

                CeE   =     Capital EcoCost of Production Plant, amortised over life  

                that is ;                    S  Land Degradation + SToxic Output Impact 

                                                        Life of Plant (expressed in MJ Output) 

 

*   Both the land area degradation and toxic cost should include the gaining of the raw material, processing and transport to the generating facility, for the fuel source. 

 

ii              Transport EcoCost   = Td x S ( LaT  + ToT +  CeT  +  CeI) 

 

Where      Td   =          Transport distances for each transport type 

                LaT   =         S Land Degradation caused by fuel procurement and operation 

                ToT  =     S   Toxic Output Impact of transporting motivator per tonne km 

                CeT =      Capital EcoCost of Transporting motivator  per tonne km 

                that is ;                      SLand Degradation + SToxic Output Impact  

                                                     Life of Vehicle (expressed in tonne km) 

                CeI  =       Capital Infrastructure EcoCost, amortised over life per tonne km 

                that is;        SLand Degradation + SToxic Output Impact    

                                  Life of Infrastructure (expressed in tonne passes) 

 

iii)  Itinerant Impacts, b, is determined from a series of sub-algorithms for each particular case 

 

iv)  The Recycled / Reused Factor, Re, is a percentage of the recycled / reused portion of total consumed. 

                Re    =   1  -  % recycled / reused 

 

                Re    =   1  -              Quantity of  Recycled Material Used 

                                                Total Quantity Used 

 

v)  The EcoCost of the recycled / reused fraction (ReE)  is found as a subroutine of the EcoCost equation