INSIGHTS
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AHMM worked with a timber merchant and concrete formwork maker Reckli to create a bespoke silicone mould which had “just the right amount of texture to not look like a caricature of timber, but would give a natural finish.” Adam Burgess says that the focus was on “working with the process to get the most out of it.” While the formwork needed to be changed slightly at different levels, the bespoke liners could be reused, making it much quicker and easier.
Sustainability
The project has achieved BREEAM Outstanding with a score of 94 per cent, as well as LEED Platinum, and is targeted to save 25 per cent of the energy of a standard spec office.
Reaching the high sustainability standards meant employing a range of passive strategies, beyond harnessing exposed concrete’s thermal benefits. For example perforated metal panels act as brise soleil and the percentage of glazing varies depending on the elevation to control solar gain, with glazing restricted to the south and increased to the north. However in-slab cooling, still “relatively new to this country,” says Burgess, forms a key part, the soffit cooled with embedded water pipes. He says there have only been a “handful” of buildings
ADF JULY 2018
so far in the UK, which have all been somewhat smaller than the White Collar Factory.
The concept is simple but effective. The concrete’s thermal mass maintains the temperature of the internal environment with a much higher efficiency than traditional air conditioning or fan coil units. However if it does get too hot in summer months, occupants used to traditional spec office buildings have been pleased to discover that here they can tweak their environment. They can open windows (if a ‘traffic light’ on their floor tells them it’s OK to do so) or switch on local trench heaters and coolers. Burgess believes strongly in the longevity of concrete as part of its sustainability case. “You can crush and reuse it, but it’s also going to stand the test of time, it’ll still be there in 200 years if needed. It has the permanence that many modern materials lack”.
Conclusion
The architects are justifiably proud of this project as a high-profile example of the power of exposed concrete’s aesthetics as well as its performance. He states: “It is an amazingly versatile material. If you are prepared to expose it, work with it and understand it, it has so much inherent variety and texture – if done properly, it can be quite beautiful.”
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