What is a Built Environment Consultancy?

Built Environment Consultancy Defined

A ‘built environment consultancy’ refers to a professional service that provides expert advice and solutions related to the planning, design, construction, and management of man-made structures such as buildings and cities. These consultancies often have multidisciplinary teams that include engineers, architects, urban planners, and environmental scientists.

Built Environment Service Offerings

They offer a wide range of services, including but not limited to:

• Structural Engineering: Designing, creating, and integrating the structural elements of a building.
• Building Services: Ensuring the operational aspects of a building such as electrical systems, plumbing, and ventilation are designed and functioning optimally.
• Energy & Carbon Management: Implementing strategies to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.
• Urban Planning: Designing and organizing the development of land in urban areas.
• Sustainability Consultancy: Advising on sustainable design and construction strategies to minimize environmental impact.
• Building Performance Analysis: Evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of a building’s systems.
• Fire Engineering: Designing safety measures to prevent, suppress and evacuate in case of fire.
• Façade Engineering: Designing the exterior envelope of a building considering both aesthetic and technical performance aspects.

Building Compliance Testing Specialists

As for Building Compliance Testing Limited (BCT), it is a specialist Building Regulation compliance testing and consultancy business. They offer a comprehensive range of services tailored to meet the unique needs of building contractors, developers, architects, and building control authorities. Their services include³⁴:

• Sound Insulation Testing: Testing the level of sound insulation provided by a building’s structure.

• Air Tightness Testing: Checking how much air leaks from a building.

• Ventilation Testing and Commissioning: Ensuring the ventilation systems in a building are working correctly.

• Water Efficiency Calculations: Assessing the efficiency of water use in a building.

• SAP Calculations and Energy Performance Certificates: Providing energy performance ratings for buildings.

• Environmental Management Plans: Developing strategies to minimise a project’s impact on the environment.

• Noise Surveys and Environmental Monitoring: Assessing the levels of noise and other environmental factors in and around a building.

• Contaminated Land Surveys: Investigating the presence of contamination in the land where a building is located.

These services help ensure that buildings are designed, constructed, and operated in compliance with various building regulations and environmental standards. They aim to create healthy, sustainable, and efficient built environments.