A SUSTAINABLE AND ETHICAL APPROACH: PEOPLE – PLACES – PLANET
We believe that architecture is fundamentally about people. Consequently, our work – regardless of function, location, or cultural circumstances – is people-focused. Our values are predicated upon the pursuit of positive outcomes for people, the places in which we work, and the planet we inhabit. Our approach is founded on asking questions, listening to our clients, understanding their aspirations, and analysing the socio-economic, cultural, and built environment context of each project.
As a measure of our commitment, Keppie is participating in the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge. We are part of Architects Declare – a network of architectural practices committed to addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency. Out of the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals we have adopted 5 as targets forming our ESG strategy:
- Decent Work and Economic growth
- Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
- Reduced Inequality
- Responsible Consumption and Production
- Climate Action
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
Our approach to sustainable design management concentrates on three key goals:
- VISION: To raise the quality of our design work and consequently the profile and reputation of the practice
- CONSISTENCY: To maintain and monitor a framework, which ensures the company’s procedural protocols are adhered to as a mechanism for achieving the company’s vision
- SUSTAINABILITY: To ensure that our work reflects our ethical values and our practice culture
Our approach to sustainable design practice can be exemplified through four very different exemplar projects.
NET ZERO CARBON
The Monklands Replacement Project is NHS Lanarkshire’s exciting vision for University Hospital Monklands and the community it serves, proposing a major investment in Lanarkshire’s hospital estate by rebuilding the hospital on a new site at Wester Moffat, near Airdrie. The project is a national pathfinder in targeting Scotland’s first briefed Net Zero Carbon hospital. The all-electric project is predicated on integrated design, construction and in-use strategies that target Net Zero Embodied & Operational Carbon from the outset.
COMMUNITY REGENERATION
The HALO Enterprise & Innovation Centre, Kilmarnock is a Net Zero Carbon workplace. The building is the catalyst for a mixed-use development providing its residents and the wider community with jobs, economic growth, skills development, access to employment opportunities, clean energy, and housing. Since completion in 2020, The HALO has been the recipient of several awards and accolades, most notably winning the Scottish Property Awards Regeneration Project of the Year, and the Best Corporate Workplace in the BCO Awards; both in 2022.
GREEN DESIGN PRINCIPLES
The Assisi Hospice in Singapore moved to its new premises in January 2017. Sited next to its previous home and costing SGD 70 million, the new six-storey building looks after more than 2,000 patients a year, double the 1,000 patients it had been serving. It has become a model of palliative care incorporating biophilia, sensory and sustainable design features to create as comfortable and life-affirming an environment as possible. The completed building was awarded a BCA Green Mark Platinum Award in 2017.
REPURPOSING INFRASTRUCTURE
The Ocean Terminal regeneration project in Leith proposes the re-imagining of the failing retail centre. Adopting the principles of a 15-minute neighbourhood, the design tailors the existing building’s footprint to respond to current retail trends. The aim is to secure its future by retaining its operation and identity as a key local amenity which then stimulates a new residential-led, mixed-use neighbourhood catering for all local community live, work and play needs.
