SUSTAINABLE BUILDING

Architects set sustainable example with designs for its own offices

Due for completion in July 2010, Treglown Court was recently awarded with the UK’s first BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ office rating at design stage with an unprecedented score of 89.12%. Director Gareth Davies takes us through the design process and explains some of the ground- breaking sustainable ideas incorporated into Stride Treglown’s new 500 sq m offices:

A

s an architectural practice we are passionate about sustainable design and are keen to offer our clients the very best in environmentally

and socially responsible architecture, so naturally when it came to building our own flagship Cardiff office, we wanted to ‘put our money where our mouth is’ and really push the envelope. The site of Treglown Court breathes life into an empty industrial development on Dowlais Road in Cardiff and is located on the site of a former industrial service yard that will become the shared parking for our office and the nearby NSPCC offices, also designed by Stride Treglown. We believe it is important to redevelop existing brownfield sites such as this, which have fallen either into disrepair or have been left empty with no likelihood of new tenants. Converting these former industrial sites and bringing them bang up-to-date in terms of modern sustainable design is an important task facing architects all over the UK, as the industry faces the challenge of improving the performance of our commercial and industrial buildings. The design for Treglown Court has been influenced by a number of different factors. The wedge shape design responds to its orientation and site entrance arrangement, whilst the building’s section and materiality respond to the desire for an exemplar building in sustainability, minimising energy consumption, waste and providing renewables on site. We have managed to achieve a Grade A Energy Performance Certificate rating of 22, with predicted emissions of just 14.2kgCO2

/m2 per annum, by

adopting a highly insulated ‘fabric’, using a wood pellet biomass boiler for space and water heating, and a small array of roof-mounted photovoltaics. Energy efficiency is aided by the adoption of a natural ventilation strategy using BMS actuated windows in the walls and roof,

28|

SUSTAINABLE FM | APRIL 2010

providing fresh air during the day and cooling at night. These sustainable initiatives have enabled us to make a 55 per cent reduction on the target emissions allowed under the Building Regulations (31.7kgCO2

/m2 per annum). Getting

these factors right in the design stage will enable us to not only have a highly sustainable, effective space in which our employees can work, but will offer savings to the company in the long term. With an anticipated annual energy load of 18.3MWh/annum for space and water heating, annual running costs for the biomass boiler are anticipated to be as little as £700.

In addition, we’re aiming to minimise water usage with the adoption of spray fittings, low water use showers and wc’s, along with ‘grey water’ recycling for toilets. Our contractor is required to agree to a strict Waste Management policy, minimising waste or recycling as much as possible as well as achieving a Considerate Constructors score of 36 or more, which we are well on target to attain.

With all our projects, we look to enhance the ecology on site wherever we can, especially on former industrial sites such as this. Unfortunately there is little room to introduce new landscape on this site, but we have managed to find a way around this by turning the roof into a ‘nature roof’. This takes the form of a new ecologically valuable habitat, appropriate to the local area which has been created with 24 different species of grasses, sedum and wild flowers above a polymer membrane together with bat and bird boxes.

With a great deal of focus rightly put into the ecological and sustainable performance of the building, we made sure the quality of the interior was to the same level, as we do with all our projects. Designed to accommodate over 50 staff across two floors, Treglown Court is laid

out in an open-plan studio arrangement. The two floors will be linked by a timber and steel open-tread staircase, with two meeting rooms placed in the sharp end of the wedge with the ability to be converted into one large room for meetings and external CPD events.

A good flow of natural ventilation was important across each floor and between floors, not only for the building’s performance but for the comfort of our staff. We have achieved this by creating a void between floors with a continuous roof light above which allows warm, stale air to be exhausted via BMS-operated openings. The disposition of windows was important for creating good natural daylight levels, without over providing and creating overheating issues. Where we are able we have introduced thermal mass on the south and west facades where there are limited views. These façades are clad in Thermowood, whilst the more adventurous curved north façade is clad in zinc-coated recyclable aluminium.

Away from all the environmental, sustainable and site challenges we faced designing and delivering this project, the major challenge has been to deliver the building’s environmental performance at an acceptable price. We are working to a build cost of around £1,600 per square metre, which represents excellent value for a relatively small building with this specification and performance. Treglown Court has been awarded the special recognition award from the Building Research Establishment for being the highest-scoring BREEAM rated office at design stage and the first in the country to be given the ‘outstanding’ rating. This has vindicated all the hard work and effort put into the building and we hope the finished product will serve as an example to both our clients and our fellow architects of how to produce a building fit for our planet’s future and with a realistic price

tag. www.stridetreglown.co.uk Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36