by Brianna Crandall — July 9, 2014—Mexico, Chile, Peru and Panama are just four countries currently engaged with built environment consultancy BRE (Building Research Establishment) on the development of sustainable building and community standards that can be applied to their emergent built environments. U.K.-based BRE is the provider of BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method), the widely used environmental assessment method for buildings and communities.
BRE’s work in the countries includes developing standards based on U.K. sustainable building and community standards, with projects for Mexico, Peru and Chile and Panama supported by funding from the U.K.’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office Prosperity Fund. The fund, which was launched in 2011, is aimed at helping emerging economies tackle climate change, strengthen energy security and promote an open global economy.
The standards being developed will address a range of parameters like energy efficiency and carbon reduction, climate adaption, water and resource use and biodiversity.
Mexico
Mexico’s Granadas project, an ambitious regeneration of a 363-hectare site in the center of Mexico City, will benefit from a sustainable masterplanning framework developed by BRE planning experts. Currently home to the Corona Beer factory and with the U.S. Embassy due to relocate there, the framework will set the benchmark for a number of developments planned for the site and meet the broader aim of using it for future development projects across the city. The project reflects a period of unprecedented growth in the Mexican built environment with issues like sustainability, energy efficiency and security high on the agenda for new buildings, homes, communities and infrastructure.
Panama, Peru
BRE is also currently developing a roadmap to sustainable housing for Panama as well as a sustainable dwellings standard for Peru. BRE Project Manager, Chloe Murphy, said, “Peru has some building regulations in place that guide developers; however, much of the housing is termed as informal. There is a push from the Government to upgrade housing standards and construct more social housing across the country. The standard we create will help them to deliver better quality, more sustainable homes that work well for those living there and for local communities as a whole.”
Chile
The Chilean Government, which launched its first sustainability-focused National Urban Development Policy at the beginning of this year, has already worked with BRE on developing the country’s first sustainable construction code. A key part of the continuing work in the country is to develop standards that not only support the government’s drive for sustainable development but also have the flexibility to adapt to the country’s very diverse climate, which includes seven major climatic zones.
