 An RIBA south west award wining building at Exeter University in Devon; The Forum. This building benefited from design review during the design and pre-planning stage |  Design Review Panel training session carried out in Taunton and the Somerset County Cricket Ground in November 2018. The event was extremely well attended by local authority representatives, house builders and design team members |  Photograph of Exeter Quay taken by Architect and Design Review Panel Manager Jonathan Braddick. The Design Review Panel holds regular design review panel sessions at Exeter City Council |  Design Review Panel training event 2018. Jonathan Tricker, Highways Engineer, Urban Designer & Director at Phil Jones Associates, gave a talk entitled: ‘Highway Design in Placemaking’ |  The design review Panel was engaged by Willmott Dixon during the pre-application design stage of the project to help them prepare a design that would be acceptable to the local authority |
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 Photograph from a 2018 design review panel site visit carried out in Dorset in 2018. A full sit down design review panel was subsequently held in the Poole Borough Council Offices |  External visualization for a NPPF paragraph 55 (now 79) house that was presented to the design review panel. This project has subsequently gone on to achieve planning permission and is now built on site |  Design Review Panel training session carried out in Exeter, Devon in December 2017. The event was extremely well attended by local authority representatives, house builders and design team members |  A small but sensitive project in Exeter Quay; The Rockfish Restaurant has been designed by Grainge Architects who engaged with The Design Review Panel during the design & pre -application planning stage |  Pegasus Life secured planning permission through public inquiry for a Sarah Wigglesworth Architects scheme for a C2 assisted living community at The Knowle, Sidmouth, Devon. The Design Review Panel (www.designreviewpanel.co.uk) were instructed by East Devon District Council (EDDC) to provide multidisciplinary, expert, independent and impartial guidance and feedback to the local authority, applicant and design team during the pre-application design stage. |
 Photograph of Plymouth Hoe, Devon. The Design Review Panel holds regular design review panel sessions at Plymouth City Council |  Design Review Panel training session carried out in Exeter, Devon. The event was extremely well attended and incorporated a mock design review panel session and design workshop. |
The Design Review Panel is helping to shape a greener future by encouraging and supporting sustainable and holistic design solutions.
Our Commitment to Sustainability
At The Design Review Panel, we are dedicated to reducing our environmental impact and promoting sustainable practices across the built environment.
We recognise that the projects we review have a significant influence on the natural world, and we are committed to ensuring that our approach to design review and business practices addresses the urgent climate and biodiversity challenges we all face.
We continually explore ways to advocate for and support sustainable design approaches in the projects we review while constantly reviewing our own practices to minimise our carbon and environmental footprint.
Beyond our commitment to sustainable operations, we actively promote sustainability and raise awareness of climate change issues through a variety of channels. We organise events, publish blogs, and share information to foster a deeper understanding of the importance of sustainable design and the steps we can all take to mitigate environmental impact.
We are strongly supportive of the UK government's goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. We also support the principles of the UK Architects & Landscape Architects Declare movements and the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge, reflecting our commitment to driving positive change both nationally and within local communities.
Designing a Sustainable Future Together Through Expert Guidance
At The Design Review Panel, we believe that sustainable design principles should be central to every development proposal. Our independent and impartial approach focuses on four key themes (as illustrated below), which we apply across all projects to help achieve sustainable outcomes in partnership with our clients and stakeholders.
Our feedback and recommendations are informed by the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge, an industry-wide framework that directs projects toward net-zero emissions within the built environment. By aligning with these goals, we support the enhancement of design quality and sustainability in the projects we review.
Expertise to Support Your Sustainability Goals
While The Design Review Panel does not design projects, we bring extensive expertise and knowledge to the table, supporting those who do. We provide informed, multidisciplinary feedback on a range of sustainability-related aspects, including the below:-
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Sustainability Briefing Insights
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Guidance on Passivhaus Design Principles
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Suggestions for Low Operational and Embodied Carbon Designs
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Review of LETI, RIBA 2030, and Other Climate Challenge Metrics
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Feedback on Embodied Carbon Analysis
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Support for Achieving BREEAM Assessments
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Suggestions on Biodiversity Net Gain Assessments
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Guidance on Building with Nature Assessments
As a recognised authority in the planning process, feedback from The Design Review Panel is a material consideration in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Our goal is to support designers and project teams in meeting the highest standards of sustainability, ensuring that their projects are both environmentally responsible and of the highest quality.
What is Passivhaus?
Passivhaus is an internationally recognised design standard that significantly reduces energy consumption in buildings while providing high levels of comfort and health. Increasingly adopted by architects, Passivhaus principles can be a key component in the creation of low-energy buildings. For more information on Passivhaus, you can explore further details here ...
What is the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge?
The RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge encourages architectural practices to adopt voluntary targets aimed at reducing operational energy, embodied carbon, and water consumption. The challenge is designed to inspire immediate action within the profession, promoting a shift toward sustainable, outcome-oriented design practices. More information about the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge can be found here ...
What is a Net Zero Building?
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Zero Carbon Building Construction:
A building achieves zero carbon during its production and construction stages (embodied carbon) when the carbon emissions are reduced to zero or become negative. This can be accomplished through carbon offsets or by generating a net surplus of on-site renewable energy.
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Zero Carbon Building Operation:
In operational terms, a building reaches zero carbon when its annual energy consumption results in zero or negative carbon emissions. Such buildings are highly energy-efficient, powered by renewable energy sources, either on-site or off-site, with any remaining emissions offset.
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Net Zero (Whole Life) Carbon:
This approach considers the total carbon emissions of a building throughout its entire lifecycle, including both operational and embodied emissions. The goal is to minimize these emissions, meet local carbon, energy, and water targets, and use offsets to achieve a net-zero balance.
What is LETI?
LETI (London Energy Transformation Initiative) is a network of over 1,000 built environment professionals dedicated to guiding the UK towards a zero-carbon future. Since its inception in 2017, LETI has published several key guidance documents that are instrumental in helping clients and professionals create more sustainable projects aimed at achieving net-zero targets. You can find more information about LETI and access their publications here...
How The Design Review Panel is Minimising Our Environmental Impact
As part of our commitment to addressing the climate change emergency, The Design Review Panel is developing a 'Sustainable Growth Plan'. This plan will outline our aspirational policies and targets aimed at reducing our environmental footprint and promoting sustainable practices within our operations.
We are also beginning to assess our environmental impact by measuring the carbon emissions generated by our business activities annually, using 2020 as our baseline. This data will help us to develop strategies for minimizing future greenhouse gas emissions. We are supportive of efforts to offset residual carbon footprints and aspire to achieve carbon-neutral operations by the middle of 2025, with a long-term goal of transitioning towards Net Zero operations by 2050.