A passport for every building

What a passport is

A building passport is a structured record of a building, kept up to date and handed on from owner to owner. It is a digital file, with a few key drawings and documents, that answers basic questions.

What is the building made of, and where?
Who designed, built and supplied it?
What has been repaired, altered or added?
How should it be looked after?
What can be reused when its life ends?

What goes in it

A useful passport is short and clear. It might include:

Description. Location, use, size, date of completion and a summary of the design.
Structure. Type of structure, loads it was designed for, and any known limits.
Materials. Main materials and finishes, with manufacturers and, where known, how they were made and whether they can be reused.
Services. Layout of power, water, drainage, heating and cooling, with equipment lists.
Fire and safety. Escape routes, fire strategy and safety systems.
Performance. Design targets for energy, water and comfort, and measured results.
Maintenance. Instructions and schedules for looking after the building and its equipment.
Changes. A log of every alteration, with dates and drawings.
End of life. What can be taken apart, reused or recycled, and how.

A building passport is a structured record of a building, kept up to date and handed on from owner to owner.
A passport for every building

Why it helps

Easier care. Owners and operators know what they have, and maintenance is planned, not improvised.
Safer changes. Designers who alter the building later know where it is safe to cut and where it is not.
Reuse. When a building is retired, its materials are known and can be recovered. This supports reuse before new build. See also Reuse before new build.
Lower carbon. Knowing what is in a building makes it easier to avoid waste and to recover valuable materials. See also Embodied carbon in plain language.
Learning. Comparing design targets with measured results teaches us what works.

How we would make one

We would start the passport in design and keep it up to date during construction, using the coordinated building model and the specification. At handover, we would give the owner a clear, usable version, with drawings, materials, equipment and maintenance information. We would also suggest that the owner updates it whenever they make changes, and, after the first year of use, that it records how the building performs.

Limits

A passport is only useful if it is kept up. It must be simple enough to maintain, stored safely, and passed to the next owner. It does not replace surveys, inspections, or professional advice. Information in it must be accurate, and sensitive information, such as security details, needs controlled access. Rules on building records differ between countries, and standards for passports are still developing.

In short

A building passport turns the knowledge in a project into a lasting record. It helps people look after a building, change it safely, and, in time, reuse it.

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