Black Cat Building Consultancy were appointed to project manage a comprehensive redevelopment and refurbishment of this 55,000 sq ft office building, located at the southern approach to Bristol City Centre. This instruction was on behalf of the BBC Pension Trust Ltd, a fund managed by CBRE Investment Management. The client aspired to position this building as a market lead by achieving BREEAM Outstanding, Fitwel 2 Star, Platinum Activescore, Platinum Wiredscore and Net Zero Carbon.
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Core Service
ESG & Sustainability -
Sector
Office -
Client Type
Tenant / Occupiers -
Location
Bristol
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Size
55,000 ft²
The project initially targeted BREEAM Excellent but during the design process the Client pushed the design team to achieve BREEAM Outstanding. This was challenging due to BREEAM credits being available at all stages of the design and construction process and therefore early-stage credits can potentially be missed; it is therefore imperative to undertake a comprehensive review of all criteria during the concept design stages.
On this occasion, this increased accreditation requirement meant that there were some design changes, and associated costs, required to achieve the relevant credits. We had to coordinate those changes and ensure that they did not adversely affect the planning conditions together with managing a restricted construction budget. For example, the green/blue roof design was tightly controlled by planning, so this had to be carefully managed. A further complexity was that the scheme was measured on a bespoke BREEAM criteria as it is part new build and part refurbishment. This meant that some of the credits were challenging to achieve. We also did not have the usual ‘credit buffer zone’ that we have on most projects and therefore all credits targeted had to be achieved.
The team rose to this challenge and in close liaison with an excellent BREEAM Assessor and with the full support and determination of the client we are on target to achieve BREEAM Outstanding at the Design Stage Assessment.
The key elements of attaining the accreditation were:
- Connection to the District Heat Network
- Provision of green/blue roof (ecology and SUDS)
- Installation of PVs, EV charging points, low use water fittings and water and refrigerant leak detection.
- Thermal modelling,
- Responsible construction practices and sourcing of materials
- Ecology measures
- Installation of cycle storage, drying room and shower facilities
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