The ‘Mind the Gap’ project : Investigating the difference, in performance, between design and the building ‘in-use’

We have the ability to design and construct high performance buildings and the knowledge and skills to operate them in an effective and efficient manner — so why does it not happen? The difference in performance between those predicted from the design and those found in actual operation are well documented.1,2 However, the underpinning reasons for this gap in performance are generally unknown; there is a lot of speculation and hypothesis but little investigation and hard evidence. This paper discusses the ‘Mind the Gap’ project aims to collect evidence from typical exemplars of office buildings which exhibit a range of performances; investigate the reasons for their performance; determine the underpinning causes; and then present practical solutions to solve any underperformance issues. The project, and hence the paper, is aimed at all those stakeholders involved in real estate sector; from portfolio investment and management through to individual building management including all associated professions and the often-forgotten building occupiers. The first phase of the project will produce a methodology based on the learnings from five trial buildings. This will be streamlined with the process then rolled out in a second phase over a larger number of buildings to produce a statistically significant sample which covers office buildings with a full range of servicing strategies and ages. This paper: introduces and explains the concept of the performance gap; describes the ‘Mind the Gap’ project and its methodology; presents some initial data and findings.