News

11.09.2007

Eimskip opens the UK’s greenest building

The country’s greenest building, created using the most sustainable building and management methods, was officially opened today (11 September 2007) by Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland.

The President, who places green issues very high on his own country’s agenda, has been following the development of Innovate Office Leeds – a 45,000 square foot office building at Thorpe Park Leeds – very closely over the past year.

Innovate Holdings, the company that owns and manages the office building, is wholly owned by Eimskip – a major Icelandic transport and distribution company. Through Eimskip’s continuing environmental work in Iceland they were able to keep the President informed of the unique construction methods used on the Innovate building.

The President of Iceland is not the only person to scrutinise closely the sustainability achievements within the building. The Building Research Establishment recently awarded the Innovate project with the highest BREEAM rating of any building type in the UK.

For over a decade, BRE's Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) has been used to assess the environmental performance of both new and existing buildings. It is regarded by the UK's construction and property sectors as the measure of best practice in environmental design and management. The Innovate Office project rated 87.55 % – the highest ever given to a building of any kind in the UK. The Scottish Natural Heritage Office – previously the country’s highest scoring building - has been significantly outpaced by Innovate Office.

The building was awarded maximum marks in a number of categories, including the management of the building during the construction process as well as on-going management once it is completed, and ensuring the health and well-being of the occupants of the buildings.

“We were stepping into the unknown when we initiated the development of Innovate Office Leeds,” said Stephen Dargavel, Joint Managing Director of Innovate Holdings Ltd. “However, the fantastic score given to us by the Building Research Establishment – together with the support of President Grimsson – has reinforced our vision of combining cutting edge environmental considerations with a business environment that is second to none.”

Recognising the key impact the Innovate building would have on sustainable development in the region for years to come, Yorkshire Forward provided major investment to bridge the gap between traditional construction costs and the sustainable methods used at Innovate Office.

Terry Hodgkinson, Chair of Yorkshire Forward said:
“Yorkshire Forward aims to lead by example by supporting projects that pioneer the use of new technologies. The Innovate Office at Thorpe Park has demonstrated that it is possible to successfully push the boundaries of sustainable construction.”

Innovate Office Leeds used a number of construction options very different to traditional construction methods. Unusual for most office buildings of this size, the building is almost entirely constructed from pre-cast concrete. The concrete – itself made from recycled aggregate and pulverised fuel ash – uses significantly less resources and energy than traditional steel-framed structures, and it allows the use of other innovative processes, such as Termodeck, passive cooling, rooftop landscaping and plantings, vacuum drainage and combined heat and power units, designed to make the building more energy efficient.

Innovate Office Leeds has also been designed to provide good air movement throughout the building to ‘suck’ out heat naturally and to aid with increased evaporation rates which also has a cooling effect. Additionally, there will be a rainwater recycling facility which will significantly reduce the amount of external water needed by the advanced heating and cooling system. The rainwater recycling plant makes up part of the ‘green roof’ concept of the building. The roof will be heavily landscaped – not only will it look pretty, but it will also help with the thermal performance of the building through stopping heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer. It will also help soundproof the building as well as increase the air quality throughout Innovate Office.

Commenting on the achievement, Deborah Brownhill, Commercial Director BREEAM Centre, at the Building Research Establishment said, “BRE is delighted to be able to certify this record breaking BREEAM scoring building. It is an example of a highly sustainable design where every effort has been made to minimise the environmental impacts of this development. Congratulations to all involved."

Although the building was designed to reduce greatly its environmental impact, its primary purpose is to offer a managed office environment for small and medium sized businesses. Office space is available within the building, from 200 sq feet through to 10,000 sq feet. The space is flexible to grow with occupiers, starting at single person offices - perfect for sole traders or start ups, in a professional environment for one person – through to open plan offices on an entire floor of the Innovate Office Leeds building.

Innovate already operates a highly successful 34,000 sqft managed office at Nottingham’s Sherwood Park.

“Following our success at Nottingham, we analysed the potential markets for another managed office building and Leeds – with its booming economy and demand for offices – came top of the list. The Thorpe Park business park is an ideal location for Innovate’s customers due to its excellent access to both Leeds city centre and the motorway network. The emphasis that Thorpe Park place on environmental factors, landscaping and ensuring an excellent working environment fit perfectly with our green vision,” said Mr Dargavel.
       
The construction of Innovate Green was managed by GMI Property Company. GMI Construction Group plc was the main building contractor; Mirus Management Services provided Project Management and Cost Consultancy Services required to keep the development on time and on budget. The architects for the Innovate Green project are led by Richard Roberts, Director of Rio Architects. Structural and Civil Engineering services were provided by Cameron Taylor. Providing integrated structural, environmental and building services engineering support to Rio and the rest of the team were Mike Shaw and Doug King from King Shaw Associates. Yorkshire Forward worked with Innovate to develop an enhanced specification for the building and funded a proportion of the cost difference between traditional construction methods and the sustainable methods used in Innovate Green.

Thorpe Park, owned and managed by Scarborough Development Group plc, is situated on the eastern edge of Leeds City Centre. It covers 270 acres and will provide up to 1.8 million sq ft of office accommodation, of which 500,000 sq ft has been developed. The site, which has direct access from the M1 motorway, provides an outstanding working environment for companies of all sizes.