In the blog today, Andy Dale, one of Livgreen’s PAS 2035 coordinators and in house architect has put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard more specifically, to answer some of his most asked questions about PAS 2035 and becoming an architect and retrofit coordinator.

Q1. What is PAS 2035?

A1. It is a 'publicly available specification' published by the British Standards Institute to act as a guide for the retrofit of energy efficiency measures to dwellings. It sets out what to do to avoid the dangers of bad retrofit and is the benchmark for professional coordination and installation best-practice.

Q2. What does the PAS 2035 'fabric first' philosophy mean?

A2. This relates to the best practice way in which a retrofit project is seen by coordinators and designers - Fabric upgraded (well-insulated) first to reduce heat demand; building services (i.e. heating and ventilation) upgraded second to further reduce demand on, as well as help clean, the national grid; and convert its source over from fossil fuel to the cleanest energy available (renewable electricity) on site at the end phase of a project.

Q3. What is the difference between a retrofit coordinator and an architect?

A3. Put simply, design intent. Architects coordinate more structural and aesthetic design work - known respectively as the general arrangement and visual language - than retrofit coordinators, who are mostly concerned with augmenting rather than altering existing buildings. This is typically why architects are responsible for seeking permissions for projects on behalf of developers on refurbishment projects.

Q4. What are the qualifications for becoming an architect versus a retrofit coordinator?

A4. An architect would normally need a Level 6 qualification to practice professionally e.g. BA or BSc (hons) degree; Diploma in Architecture; or Certificate of Professional Practice. A retrofit coordinator may already have something similar and would also obtain an additional Level 5 Diploma in Retrofit Coordination and Risk Management.

Q5. What are the professional organisations that licence oversee architects and retrofit coordinators?

A5. The Architects Registration Board (arb.org.uk) and Royal Institute of British Architects (architecture.com) for architects. TrustMark (trustmark.org.uk) for retrofit coordinators. If you have a question for Andy that isn’t covered in this blog then please get in contact here and we shall get back to you as quickly as we can.