Inferences about built form, construction, and fabric in the nondomestic building stock of England and Wales

Methods are described for making inferences as regards the geometrical and physical characteristics of all nondomestic buildings in England and Wales. Estimates are made of the floor areas in built forms with framed and load-bearing structures, respectively, and of the typical numbers of floors in built forms of different types. Calculations are made of the total areas of exposed walls, roof surfaces, and glazing, and of the breakdown of the wall and roof areas by material. The results are being used by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to gain a better understanding of the patterns of energy use associated with nondomestic buildings. The 'inference model' described here has been installed at the Building Research Establishment, where it forms one component of the National Non-Domestic Energy and Emissions Model (N-DEEM), whose purpose is to monitor the use of fossil fuels, estimate the emission of greenhouse gases, and evaluate fuel conservation measures (Pout, 2000). The paper is concluded with a discussion of possible refinements and tests of the inference methodology, and potential future extensions.

Surveys of nondomestic buildings in four English towns

In this paper we describe the selection of four English urban areas in which the nondomestic building stocks might collectively be considered characteristic of the national stock. A brief history is provided of urban development in each of the four areas. The scope and methodology of comprehensive surveys of nondomestic buildings in the four survey areas are described and a brief summary of the characteristics of the building stocks in the four areas is derived from the survey data.

Types, numbers, and floor areas of nondomestic premises in England and Wales, classified by activity

Estimates are given of the numbers and floor areas of all nondomestic premises in England and Wales, as of 1993/94. These are based on a wide range of data sources, of which the most important are commercial rating (property taxation) data collected by the Valuation Office of the Inland Revenue. Information has also been collated from a large number of publications and databases produced by commercial firms, central and local government departments, and professional and trade organisations. A new hierarchical classification of activities is employed, called here the primary classification . This has been developed out of a series of existing schemes by which the original data are themselves classified.

A classification of built forms

A classification of built forms is presented. It is based on a study of buildings surveyed at 3350 addresses in four English towns and has been designed for use in the national Non-Domestic Building Stock (NDBS) database developed for the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions. As the prime use of the database is in energy analysis, the classification focuses on the external envelopes of buildings. (Materials of construction, servicing systems, and activities are classified separately.) Built forms are distinguished according to two main criteria: the broad 'texture' of their internal subdivision; and whether they are daylit or artificially lit.