Scottish Funding Council POE: Sustainable Development Research Project

Client: Scottish Funding Council

BRE Scotland Role: Project Manager, Sustainability Consultant


BRE Scotland is working for the Scottish Funding Council to carry out the Post Occupancy Evaluations (POE) on four further education and higher education establishments: Carnegie College, Cumbernauld College, John Wheatley College and Queen Margaret University.  Three of these were specifically funded to promote sustainability.

Post occupancy reviews are a valuable method of obtaining feedback on recently completed construction projects from those personnel who were involved in the process as well as occupants and other end users. Such reviews provide useful information that can be used in two ways. Firstly, to highlight any problems that can be addressed and solved within the project in use and secondly, to provide lessons that can be used to improve the process and design on future construction projects.


For each educational building the methodology for the POE is as follows:

  • Observational walk rounds are carried out to gather initial information on the performance of the new buildings. These observations are captured and analysed
  • An indicative BREEAM Post Construction Review rating is calculated using information provided by the college and their consultants
  • An audit of energy, water and financial data is carried out
  • An assessment of the building is carried out using the DQM, an expert method used by auditing bodies throughout the UK
  • Consultation with all staff and students who use the buildings via a questionnaire and focus groups.

The SFC wanted to ensure sustainability remained at the core of its projects.