Three of our top sustainable office designs

UK Green Building Council

Key facts:

• Location: London
• 1,720 square feet
• 139 kgCO2/m² embodied carbon footprint

This project was all about challenging common perceptions around the limitations of small spaces. Spanning just over 1,700 square feet, the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) is using its HQ as a template to inspire other organisations to pursue sustainable excellence when upgrading their offices.

From a carbon perspective, this is a standard-bearer. With an embodied carbon footprint of 139 kgCO2/m² (the lowest ever recorded fit out in the UK), UKGBC’s office is 22% better performing than the embodied carbon of a comparable standard fit out. Other standout environmental features include a 48% reduction in emissions from lighting and a 99.4% rate of construction waste diverted from landfill. Key wellbeing measures were also introduced, including a ventilation system which has delivered a 7.5-fold increase in background fresh air provision, pollutant-removing products and features, and a living wall packed with over 1,500 plants which helps maximise the air quality of the space.

Here is a video about the Morgan Lovell project and our low carbon office design for the UKGBC.

Bottomline Technologies

Key facts:

• Location: Arlington Business Park, Theale
• 58,000 square feet
• SKA Gold

Home to creative technology specialists, our task was to inspire innovation and design a destination workplace – summarised by a simple yet intriguing brief to “show us the art of the possible”. Sustainability was a key target for this project, aiming for a high SKA rating. Waste reduction and material efficiency was considered from the outset and continued throughout the entirety of the project. The project had an overall recycling rate of 94%, achieving all the targeted waste good practice measures. Similarly, the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting systems were carefully selected and installed to ensure they were energy efficient and met the requirements of the Energy Technology List.

In addition, all products and materials were selected to ensure they aligned with SKA’s good practice requirements, including being covered by EPDs (Environmental Product Declarations), EU Ecolabels and high recycled content. Amongst these products were raised access flooring systems, carpets and partitions. All timber on the project was certified FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification). All the sustainable measures together contributed to the project achieving a SKA Gold rating.

Here you can see more images of this sustainable office design.