BEAM Plus New Buildings

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BEAM PLUS FOR NEW BUILDINGS OVERVIEW
V ERSION 1.2
Copyright © 2012 BEAM Society Limited. All rights reserved.
PURPOSE BEAM seeks to:
 enhance the quality of buildings in Hong Kong;
 stimulate demand for buildings that are more sustainable, giving
recognition for improved performance and minimising false claims;
 provide a comprehensive set of performance standards that can be
pursued by developers and owners;
 reduce the environmental impact of buildings throughout their life
cycle; and
 ensure that environmental considerations is integrated right at the
design and planning stages.
VOLUNTARY
ASSESSMENT
An assessment under BEAM is voluntary, providing an independently
certified performance rating for a building in clearly defined terms.
BEAM covers all types of new and existing buildings: residential,
commercial, institutional, and industrial. It embraces and endorses
exemplary practices in the planning, design, construction,
commissioning, management and operation of buildings in the context of
Hong Kong’s densely populated, predominantly high-rise cityscape.
New buildings that are planned, designed, built and commissioned to the
standards set under BEAM Plus for New Buildings are safe, healthy,
comfortable and efficient buildings that sustain the quality of life and
workplace productivity, whilst minimising the depletion of natural
resources and reducing environmental loadings. Existing buildings
managed and operated to the standards set under BEAM Plus for
Existing Buildings can maintain high level performance over the life of the
buildings.
CLIENTS DECIDE BEAM provides a label for building quality. The label signifies a level of
quality in respect of safety, health and comfort, which are important
considerations for building users (buyers, tenants, occupants), and a
level of performance in respect of environmental and social dimensions,
which are of importance to society as a whole. It is for the Client
(developer, owner) to decide whether to undertake a BEAM assessment
and the performance standard that are appropriate for the building in the
prevailing circumstances. The Client ultimately decides whether
obtaining a BEAM label is a worthwhile endeavour, but completion of a
BEAM assessment provides assurances on the quality of the building:
based not just on a subjective promise, but on measurable evidence.
DEVELOPMENT HISTORY The BEAM scheme was established in 1996 and published two
assessment methods, one for ‘new’ [ 1 ] and one for ‘existing’ office
buildings [ 2 ]. The contents of these two assessment methods were
largely based on the UK Building Research Establishment’s BREEAM.
Environmental issues were categorised under ‘global’, ‘local’ and ‘indoor’
impacts, respectively. In 1999, the ‘office’ upgrades versions [3,4] were
published with minor revisions, and an entirely new assessment method
for high-rise residential buildings [5] was also published in the same year.
1 CET. HK-BEAM 1/96. An Environmental Assessment Method for New Air-conditioned Office Premises. 1996.
2 CET. HK-BEAM 2/96. An Environmental Assessment Method for Existing Air-conditioned Office Premises. 1996.
3 CET. HK-BEAM 1/96R. An Environmental Assessment Method for New Air-conditioned Office Premises. 1999.
4 CET. HK-BEAM 2/96R. An Environmental Assessment Method for Existing Air-conditioned Office Premises. 1999
5 CET. HK-BEAM 3/99. An Environmental Assessment Method for New Residential Buildings.1999.