Gaia’s cutting edge is underpinned by research that embraces blue-sky thinking as well as the practical needs, requirements and expectations of clients and users wanting sustainable buildings and places.

Our research experience embraces innovative and autonomous technologies, passive solar design, solar cooling, innovative ventilation strategies, animal architecture, lighting and daylighting, heating systems, non-toxic materials, policy development, urban design, community participation, low impact materials, benign specification, low allergy housing, regulatory issues, timber and process issues, economic appraisal, system design, best value and best practice. We fully address the elements in design that add value, and the process aspects of sustainable construction that are vitally important to achieve change and real delivery in all building types

Gaia has in the past offered a full range of feasibility, architectural, project management and landscape services to suit sustainable building, place-making and master-planning requirements. We have experience as design team leaders on a range of national and international award winning sustainable development projects including UK and Scotland house of the year and a World Habitat commendation. Many of these projects embraced community consultation and participation to assist in brief setting and meeting the real needs of an identified client or group. The scope of projects, some of which are detailed here, includes houses and housing, school, commercial, tourism, leisure and academic buildings. Since 2013 we have worked as advisors and support to other deign teams.

Gaia retains a lifetime interest in our projects. We are committed to post occupancy evaluation and reporting on the result of innovative strategies where funding allows to enable continual improvement and have linked research and design projects together in order to facilitate this.

Gaia publishes extensively in our own right and through client networks and commercial publishers. See Publications

Gaia's research base and our practical experience brings real added value to training in sustainable project and policy delivery for public and private sector clients. We have extensive experience of the design and delivery of exemplar healthy, resource efficient projects that offer best value. We recognise not only what needs to happen but also how pitfalls can be avoided. Sandy Halliday, Principal of Gaia Research, has authored the CPD series Sustainable Construction published by Butterworth Heinmann. Our training embraces passive design, healthy buildings, lighting and daylighting, building physics, urban design, resilience, social and economic responsibility, design for the elderly, appraisal tools & techniques and cost issues.

It is our experience that it is possible to deliver sustainable buildings at the same cost as unsustainable construction. This relies on bringing together an effective combination of aspiration, commitment and information with the right balance of incentives and controls. It also requires attention to fundamentals and avoidance of the oversizing and waste that is endemic in construction activity.

Over time we have become increasingly involved in capacity building in the private and public sector to assist in the delivery of healthy, resource efficient and affordable built development at all scales, from one-off buildings through to master-planning. A consensus building approach has been used extensively by us to engage design teams in setting advanced performance standards across a range of sustainability issues. However, this often leads to recognition of strategic needs and then to the creation of frameworks for things to happen, as a vital precursor to the design of finished structures.

Early support as sustainability champions in setting briefs and establishing benchmarks can be re-enforced through real time guidance as projects progress through all stages from briefing and specification, tendering and tender evaluation and handover with appropriate guidance to users, managers and to post-occupancy evaluation. See The Sustainability Guide to the Plan Of Work 2013

Projects include community, research and teaching, theatre, environmental education, school, housing, office and sports facilities.