Living Laboratory Innovation Challenge

The Living Laboratory Innovation Challenge is an exciting and unique opportunity for stakeholders to collaborate on the design, installation, and commissioning of a cutting-edge HVAC and lighting solution in the office space at the BSRIA Headquarters located in Bracknell, Berkshire.

The Challenge aims to inspire creativity, drive innovation, and contribute to the development of sustainable HVAC and lighting solutions that can positively impact workplaces and the environment. This Challenge aligns with the vision of creating a greener, smarter, and more comfortable future for occupants in office spaces.

Real-time in-use monitoring hosted on the BSRIA website will be carried out on the performance of the HVAC and lighting solution and the indoor environment to demonstrate energy efficiency and occupant satisfaction.

The Building:

Constructed in the 1980s the Challenge is applicable to the first and second floors (each floor approximately measuring 21m x 14m x 2.76m) of a three-storey brick building, which uses steel and concrete with screeded concrete slabs for floors and a concrete slab roof with an asphalt top layer. The building has single-glazed aluminium windows and has gas central heating with radiators.  Incorporated within the three-storey building is a central stairwell, with welfare facilities on the first floor.

In advance of this project and adopting a fabric first approach, BSRIA has embarked on multiple fabric performance improvements to the building. Pre and post air permeability, thermographic, heat loss, U-value, ambient noise level, and acoustic quality measurement surveys will be carried out by BSRIA and supplied to bidders to support phase 4 submissions – See Challenge application phases below.

Submission requirements:

We are inviting stakeholders to submit an expression of interest to design, install, and commission an HVAC and lighting system on one of two floors in the BSRIA building, with a winner being announced for each floor. 

Submissions need to include considerations of the following criteria:

• Sustainable Innovation: Develop a sustainable solution that is energy efficient, environmentally friendly, minimises embodied carbon emissions, and reduces the building’s existing carbon footprint. The inclusion of biophilic design as part of the solution is encouraged.
• Comfort and Productivity: Create a solution that ensures a conducive work environment for office occupants and achieves optimal indoor air quality and thermal comfort.
• Integration with Smart Technologies: Explore the integration of smart technologies, such as IoT sensors, machine learning, and automation, to enhance HVAC system performance and adaptability.
• Cost-effectiveness: System design should be cost-effective, taking maintenance and energy consumption into consideration.

BSRIA's commitment:

BSRIA will provide/carry out the following:

• Make available the first and second floors of the building for Challenge winners to deliver their solutions.  Full details of the building and its services will be supplied on completion of the fabric upgrades and prior to the final submission stage.
• Fully instrument and monitor the system performance against design criteria post-commissioning and pre-occupancy.  Once each floor is occupied the real-time in-use performance of the system including indoor environmental parameters (including air quality light levels and thermal comfort) will be monitored and reported via the BSRIA website.  
• In conjunction with Challenge winners, develop performance metrics that track the impact of the winning HVAC systems on the building's overall energy efficiency, occupant comfort, and environmental quality. This will include carrying out the BSRIA Occupant Wellbeing (BOW) Survey post-occupancy evaluation, which enables occupant satisfaction benchmarking and highlights areas for solution improvement.
• Promote this project as a case study for innovative and effective retrofit methods to support decarbonisation and indoor environmental targets.
• Subject to availability, permit access to Challenge winners and their partners/supply chain to the Living Laboratory to showcase the HVAC and lighting solution.

Challenge application phases:

1. Expression of interest submission with an outline of the proposed solution – maximum of two A4 pages in font Arial size 11 by Friday 29th March 2024.
2. Evaluation and shortlist submissions.
3. Shortlisted submissions to be issued with full building specifications and access to the premises for surveying.
4. Submission of a detailed proposal outlining the solution.
5. Evaluation and judging.
6. Winner announcement.

Terms and Conditions:

1. Expressions of interest in the Challenge should be submitted by 11:00 am on Friday 29 March 2024 either by post to BSRIA, Living Laboratory Innovation Challenge, Old Bracknell Lane West, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 7AH or by email to LivingLaboratory@bsria.co.uk
2. No responsibility is accepted by BSRIA for lost, damaged, delayed or mislaid expressions of interest.
3. There is no limit to the number of expressions of interest that may be made by each individual or company but applicants should mark each separate submission accordingly.
4. BSRIA reserves the exclusive right to decide upon the successful applicant(s) and, notwithstanding the volume or detail of submissions, BSRIA always reserves the right NOT to award the Challenge to any submission. 
5. BSRIA’s judged decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. Submission for the Challenge is made at the cost and risk of the submitting party and no claim may be made against BSRIA for any costs or expenses, of any nature, associated with the preparation or submission of an expression of interest(s).
7. The closing date for submission of expressions of interest is 11:00 am on Friday 29 March 2024. 
8. In the event that BSRIA receives a substantial number of highly detailed submissions, it reserves the right to extend the judging period by a reasonable timeframe and applicants will be notified accordingly. 
9. The successful applicant(s) awarded this Challenge may be required to take part in publicity to promote this innovative approach to the future of office spaces and hereby grant BSRIA permission to communicate their details to third parties in relation to this Challenge.

By submitting an expression of interest, entrants are deemed to have accepted the conditions of the Challenge as set out by BSRIA.