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mass and fl uids. By the third year we were
working as design teams in studio, and I think
that this was the point at which we all began to
understand the benefi t of the programme.’
Bellew admits that he used to do ‘stealth’
engineering, whereby he would install a green
technology such as heat recovery as standard
if he was convinced about the effi ciency gains
of this. ‘Otherwise, the minute you put this
solution down as an additional item in the
“green column” of the analysis, it is then
a hostage to fortune and to budget cuts –
whereas we would rather see it as being an
intrinsic part of a good building.’
But, in this time of recession, can he still
get away with this? ‘Yes, we’ve not changed
our current approach,’ says Bellew. ‘We do a
combination of [green] things as standard, and
then we look for areas where we can “push the
boat out”, to make for buildings that move the
debate about green design forward.’
But Bellew believes a design consultancy
should do more than seek to push at the
profession’s boundaries. It should also extend
its green thinking to its local community
and, where possible, to the developing
world. Examples of such activities include
supporting staff in their volunteering work
in local schools and charities. The Atelier Ten
Foundation has also been set up to invest a
proportion of company profi ts to support staff
to undertake humanitarian work overseas.
Whether or not you think this all sounds
too good to be true, Bellew’s and Atelier Ten’s
string of awards and accolades point fi rmly
to the conclusion that this is one engineering
consultancy that – despite its relatively small
size – continues to set a benchmark for
corporate social responsibility among its peers.
All of which makes Perserverance Works,
with its ring of Victorian philanthropy,
a highly appropriate address for the
company.
Above and left: One of
two biomes currently
under construction at
Singapore’s Gardens by
the Bay development.
Atelier is the building
services and sustainability
consultant for the scheme,
which has been designed
to be carbon neutral over
the period of a year
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