![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F1960_office.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=115&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=71bdf3880f44d8e505d9372e2a4640a2 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F1960_office.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=229&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=3a3525b3bbf480dea575c2ba8e58acb2 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F1960_office.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=419&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=906b4b562339d107b9afa7fce400912a 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F1960_office.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=559&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=52cf56ffe372f547c7cbf81f8a6564bd 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F1960_office.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=764&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=6e3849d5c3774721d99902d5164f5b20 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F1960_office.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=873&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=0dd0a7d150281ed710adbe8b9fd5c3b7 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F1960_office.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1047&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=69e0e257c0a6489e54517cd6a052d139 1920w)
The advent of the personal computer fundamentally changed the energy consumption of commercial buildings. The computers of the 80s and 90s produced more than twice the heat of the people using them. And while lighting technology became more efficient, offices became deeper in plan, putting huge pressure on the facade to bring in as much natural light as possible to keep the dependence on expensive lighting down.
The balance was tipping. Full-height glazing let in more light but also more heat, which then couldn’t escape. People looked to air-conditioning to get the heat out, which requires a significant amount of energy, and building roofs became covered in chiller units, which effectively pump heat into the atmosphere. It’s like lighting a fire to cool down – it doesn’t make sense.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F1990_office.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=115&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=4e858e8b3f15d8d486da17306cc6017a 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F1990_office.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=229&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=f081ab163b6e1b0bb6390ffb109a9077 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F1990_office.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=419&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=1762436454979d55ce6d5fd5920e833c 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F1990_office.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=559&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=de163d45c203f40df41e26391ab9b48f 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F1990_office.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=764&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=42a1ed8e49dd666f971c71448f1232bf 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F1990_office.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=873&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=c995c95881c8ae7977c14e053414b03d 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F1990_office.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1047&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=849bc9dff74c247c2db59ae7d86115e6 1920w)
The next generation
Thanks to LED lights, which are ten times more efficient than the lighting of the 60s, and modern laptops, which only use a fifth of the energy of early computers, we consume less energy inside our buildings these days. The sun is getting stronger, though, and proportionally the biggest issue we now face is solar gain.
Facade insulation and glass technology are effective measures for reducing solar gain, but these alone can only ever be part of the solution. The growing quality and affordability of LED lighting means we’re less dependent on external light sources, so windows today function as facilitators for wellbeing more than anything, cluing us into the weather and time of day, letting in natural light and shadows, and framing beautiful views for us to enjoy. We should take this moment as an opportunity to reassess the role glass has in office design – to rethink our relationship with windows and figure out how to design in their benefits and design out their downsides.
Make’s approach
At Make we’ve developed an ethos of prioritising the users of our buildings and their needs above all else. Applying this to office design while also honouring our commitment to sustainability has meant exploring alternatives to glazed facades. After all, loving natural light doesn’t mean shunning shade. Consider traditional Japanese houses or Roman temples like the Pantheon – their complex interplay of shadow is just as emotionally fulfilling as sunshine pouring in through a large glass atrium.
We’ve come to the conclusion that designing more solid office buildings where windows are carefully placed only where they’re needed is our best bet for reducing heat waste while meeting users’ wellbeing needs. Simply raising windows off the floor by the height of a desk can reduce the air-conditioning load by 20% at peak summer times – think what else is possible if we couple strategies like this with higher ceilings and solar gain-reducing technology.
You can see this in action at our 5 Broadgate, our new headquarters for Swiss financial firm UBS in the City of London. The building – home to 10,000 staff – was designed with major carbon savings in mind. By starting with a solid block and carving light into it via carefully positioned atria, light shelves and lifts, we’ve created a facade that significantly minimises the energy needed for cooling and heating, all the while retaining a human scale and capturing amazing views and high levels of natural light. The building is rated BREEAM ‘Excellent’ – attaining one of the highest BREEAM scores ever awarded to a London office development – and functions at 50% higher efficiency than Building Regulations require.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2FBroadgate-Make-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=295&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=d421830f01db26bf4637c2ed5f53058a 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2FBroadgate-Make-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=590&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=19bb7e6ec51814f7382a131235aceb31 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2FBroadgate-Make-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1079&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=46cf28a8ae155f35999422c15a9e45f3 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2FBroadgate-Make-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1438&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=2fc21c2671c1b78fef66553007b389ce 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2FBroadgate-Make-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1966&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=d0c55292d0130096e06cf512d1e08116 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2FBroadgate-Make-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2247&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=f19141f9ee3c588e7484696be109f819 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2FBroadgate-Make-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2697&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=669d36f79e310d9819c7d8dc610fa5b4 1920w)
Our recently completed office scheme at London Wall Place also used solidity at its starting point, eventually achieving an overall glass-to-solid ratio of 50%. This largely comes down to an orientation that optimises views and a vertical expression that layers stone and ceramic – materials that are important to the context of the site and its history.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FLWP-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=242&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=41d4f7bd85572f6939e6cdb51228d039 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FLWP-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=484&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=3d477463b94afbcb828e5c054833fdda 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FLWP-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=886&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=1cd85e81d154327457b0ffa5bb357d7d 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FLWP-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1181&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=5f10f023628dcadab20c8e8bac36cb11 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FLWP-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1615&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=066a9983f22ab0cdd831b27edb3fe044 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FLWP-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1845&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=e42da8fcd130238464962bb8628321a0 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FLWP-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2214&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=264334fae1818809921e3bdc102d5062 1920w)
At St James’s Market, meanwhile, we opted for a horizontal expression in natural stone – again, a material that complements the local area. In this design, an over-sailing form provides natural shading to the south, and a carefully placed central skylight creates a dramatic atrium. As with the other examples, the glazing has been set at a height that maximises views, reduces solar gain and formally responds to its local streetscape.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FSJM-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=315&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=51958d14d8abbdc0c9b61371fe8b1743 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FSJM-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=630&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=d5dae38d98434857f652780e06865e77 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FSJM-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1152&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=03a51dc3a7688e19379b64d30a0d9f53 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FSJM-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1536&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=49c201c293a7a45a853fac1a1e8eb856 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FSJM-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2100&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=2d37c517959e947c3a4cdc77b4c2d0ea 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FSJM-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2400&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=6823c671f4ec09883ed9ab844c72ac42 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2FSJM-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2880&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=d4cd26d7f7887ca6758dbd757a6b95f5 1920w)
Embracing a language of solidity
Reining in solar gain doesn’t have to mean resigning ourselves to dark, window-less offices. It’s all about revisiting our relationship with natural light and rewriting our design vocabulary into one that puts sustainability on par with wellbeing.
A key part of this is understanding that changing the way buildings work on such a fundamental level will change the way they look from the outside, with larger, more solid buildings the likely result. Judging architecture on the basis of crude aesthetics will always promote the familiar over the novel, but we need to fight that familiarity through education and encourage people to embrace these changes.
If we get it right, our children will thank us. If we aren’t careful, the future may not be the one we’re hoping for.