The Environment Agency’s
new Bristol corporate office has achieved
the highest score ever awarded by the Building
Research Establishment (BRE) for its environmental
credentials
The development, in
the centre of Bristol, achieved a score
of 85.06% under BREEAM 2006, the most widely
used environmental assessment method for
buildings around the world. No other office
building in the UK has ever achieved such
a high rating under either BREEAM 2006 or
BREEAM 2008, making this the "greenest"
office development in the UK. The achievement
is particularly impressive given the city
centre location and size of the development.
In responding to the
Environment Agency’s brief to develop a
commercially viable building to the highest
environmental standards, developer Westmark,
and its team of architects, engineers and
contractor, has used the latest technologies,
innovative design and stringent site management
to ensure the excellent environmental performance
in both the construction and use of the
building.
Technologies used in
the building range from rainwater harvesting
to cut water consumption and intelligent
lighting systems to cut electricity use,
to natural ventilation. It also includes
a ground source heat pump to reduce heating
and cooling costs. Environmental impact
during construction has also been reduced
through use of recycled materials and careful
management of energy and resources on site.
The Environment Agency
is now urging other UK organisations, and
developers, to follow its example by developing
office buildings which reduce their impact
on the environment, whilst saving resources
and costs.
The topping out ceremony
to celebrate the completion of the building’s
external structure takes place today (Thursday
3rd September). During the ceremony, Angus
Jack, Director of BREEAM UK, will present
Paul Leinster, Chief Executive of the Environment
Agency, and Euan Cresswell, Managing Director
of Westmark, with the building’s BREEAM
certificate.
Paul Leinster, Chief
Executive of the Environment Agency commented,
"This achievement demonstrates how
organisations can work with developers to
build exceptional offices which meet their
needs whilst reducing their impact on the
environment. By relocating to a more efficient
building the Environment Agency will save
around 10% every year on operational and
energy costs, an estimated £180,000
saving per year."
Euan Cresswell, Managing
Director of Westmark commented, "We
wanted to show with the Environment Agency’s
new office that high environmental standards
and commercial viability are not mutually
exclusive. Our team has worked hard to develop
a building which has all the facilities
which a large occupier would expect from
a modern office at a price which is market
competitive, but which at the same time
has an unprecedentedly low impact on the
environment. Most of all it will be a great
place to work. We have shown that going
green does not have to cost developers or
office occupiers the Earth and that it can,
in fact, bring strong commercial advantages".
Carol Atkinson, Chief
Executive of BRE Global commented, "BRE
welcomes the example that the Environment
Agency has set, but more importantly welcomes
the challenge it has set down for others
to build even better buildings in the UK.
BREEAM buildings are not only good for the
environment in reducing energy and water
use, and good for those that work within
them with better day lighting and air quality,
but also do not cost as much as many expect.
I look forward to many others following
the Environment Agency's example."
Westmark’s team includes
Alec French Architects, Engineers Hoare
Lea and Contractor Sir Robert McAlpine.
The BREEAM score is
calculated by assessing a building’s performance
under eight criteria. The Environment Agency’s
new corporate office achieved a 100% BREEAM
2006 score for the assessment criteria of
Management, Transport and Water. It achieved
a score of 70% or over (considered ‘excellent’
- on a scale of ‘fail’, ‘pass’, ‘good’,
‘very good’ and ‘excellent’) for all other
assessment criteria, including Health and
Wellbeing, Energy and Pollution. There are
only three other office buildings in the
UK ever to achieve a score greater than
80% under BREEAM 2006.
ENDS
Image caption: An artist’s
impression of what the Environment Agency
corporate office will look like when completed
in 2010.
FURTHER IMAGES ARE AVAILABLE
TO ACCOMPANY THIS PRESS RELEASE.
Media enquiries: Environment
Agency Press Office: 020 7863 8710 or outside
normal office hours, please contact the
National Duty Press Officer on 07798 882
092.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. 85.06% is the highest
rating any office building has been given
under BREEAM 2006 standards, which are most
stringent than earlier BREEAM standards.
This means that although some buildings
have been granted higher percentage scores
under earlier BREEAM criteria, the standards
they had to meet to do so were not as tough
as those under BREEAM 2006. Because the
criteria are different, scores cannot be
directly converted between the different
standards regimes. No buildings have yet
been rated under BREEAM 2008, the most recent
update to the regulations. Therefore the
Environment Agency’s new corporate office
currently holds the highest ever environmental
rating for an office building in the UK.
2. Some examples of
the installations that contributed to this
the Environment Agency’s corporate office’s
85.06% BREEAM 2006 score are:
§ Water: Rainwater
harvesting will use rainwater to flush water
efficient WCs, reducing the total portable
water used in the building by 70%. Intelligent
metering and detection controls will also
ensure efficient water use.
§ Lighting: All
lighting systems will have intelligent controls
to reduce energy use. 100m2 of Photovoltaic
cells will produce electricity.
§ Ventilation:
Natural ventilation throughout the building
using opening external windows will cool
the building at night and ensure good working
conditions at minimum energy consumption.
Natural ventilation of the underground car
park will reduce the building’s energy consumption
by 44 megawatt hours per year, the equivalent
of 33 tonnes of carbon per year, reducing
the running costs of the building by £10,600
per year.
§ Temperature Control:
Low and zero carbon technologies will be
used to heat the building. These technologies
include a ground source heat pump, which
uses the ground temperature to heat hot
water all year round and the building in
the winter, contributing 17.5% of the building’s
annual energy requirements. There will also
be 45m2 solar hot water collectors to produce
hot water.
§ Ecology: A wild
flower meadow grass roof on the upper terrace,
tree planting on Deanery Road and a "mini
park" in the location of the previous
car park will enhance ecology and reduce
surface run off around the building.
§ Transport: The
building’s city centre location and extensive
cyclist parking and shower facilities will
reduce the environmental impact of transport
together with ‘Green Transport Plans’ which
are being developed with staff to help them
make the most of public transport.
§ Materials: Aggregates
from the previous building demolition have
been used for the substructure of the new
building. Materials throughout the building
were chosen with high recycled contents
which can be recycled in the future and,
where possible, were sourced from local
suppliers with FSC and ISO14001 certifications.
§ Monitoring: On
site monitoring and reporting of water and
electricity consumption will be used together
with monitoring of carbon dioxide production
arising from deliveries and site activities.
3. The Environment Agency’s
new corporate office, Horizon House is located
in Bristol city centre on Deanery Road.
Environment Agency staff will begin moving
into the building in late 2010 from its
three existing corporate offices, based
at Aztec West, Westbury-on-Trym and Twerton
near Bath. The office will officially open
in April 2011.
The Environment Agency’s
corporate office will occupy 70,000 sq ft
and is part of a larger mixed-use development
by Westmark. The development includes a
residential area of 78 apartments and a
second smaller office development, WestOne.
These developments will also have excellent
environmental credentials.
4. Westmark is a Bristol-based
mixed use developer operating in the UK,
Eastern Europe and the Caribbean. It is
part of the LTG Real Estate Group. For more
information visit <http://www.westmarkdev.co.uk>.
5. BREEAM (BRE Environmental
Assessment Method) is the leading and most
widely used environmental assessment method
for buildings around the world, with over
110,000 buildings certified and over half
a million registered. It sets the standard
for best practice in sustainable design
and has become the de-facto measure used
to describe a building’s environmental performance.
Credits are awarded in eight categories
according to performance. These credits
are then added together to produce a single
overall score on a scale of Pass, Good,
Very Good, Excellent and Outstanding which
is also reflected in a star rating from
1 to 5 stars. The operation of BREEAM is
overseen by an independent Sustainability
Board, representing a wide cross-section
of construction industry stakeholders. www.breeam.org
<http://www.breeam.org>.
6. BRE Global Limited
(incorporating LPCB & BREEAM) is an
independent third party approvals body offering
certification of fire, security and sustainability
products and services to an international
market. BRE Global mission is to ‘Protect
People, Property and the Planet’ and is
a trading subsidiary of the BRE Trust, the
registered research and education charity
which owns the BRE Group. For further information
please contact: BRE Global, Garston, Watford,
WD25 9XX, Tel: 01923 664100, Fax: 01923
664910, Email: enquiries@breglobal.com <mailto:enquiries@breglobal.com>
or visit www.breglobal.com <http://www.breglobal.com/>.
7. The Environment Agency
is the largest organisation protecting and
improving the environment in Europe. As
an Executive Non-departmental Public Body,
with the principle aim of protecting and
improving the environment, the Environment
Agency’s work includes encouraging and enabling
people and organisations to use water wisely,
be properly prepared for flooding, enable
farmers and landowners to adopt good environmental
practice to protect water quality, tackle
illegal waste activities and act on climate
change. For more information visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk
<http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk>.
