We are based in the iconic Filwood Green Business Park. The site boasts a number of green credentials:
- BREEAM ‘Outstanding’
- Sedum Green roof
- Photovoltaic Panels
- High Performance Building Fabric
- Natural Ventilation & Lighting
- Energy Efficient Services
- Low Water Use
- Electric Vehicle Charging
- Secure Cycle Storage & Showers
- Wildlife Ecology Area
- 84% Recycled Furniture
Ecology at the complex
The office complex is visibly green with landscaping that reflects the original biodiversity of the site:
- A wildlife-friendly zone on the western edge of the site is species rich and includes a new pond.
- Native tree species have also been planted along the frontage with Hengrove Way.
- A new habitat has been created with a sedum green roof on the office block.
- Planters in the car park area are used for local growing projects.
- The project has also made a financial contribution to Bristol’s Tree Pips initiative to involve primary age schoolchildren in learning about and planting 36,000 new trees across the city.
Awards and accolades
The complex has won three awards that recognise its design quality and outstanding environmental credentials. The latest is the Bristol Civic Society Design Award (June 2016), but also the Bristol Post Green Capital Award for an Eco-Building in November 2015, and the 2degrees Champions Award in July 2015.
Scoring 93.08% in the BREEAM Final Certificate, the complex was nominated for a BREEAM Award in 2014 at design stage, when it was Highly Commended, and again in 2016, where it was up against international competition.
Designed to achieve a 40 per cent CO2 reduction, saving an estimated 46 tonnes of CO2 annually (equivalent to 276 double decker buses).
What is BREEAM outstanding?
All of these environmental measures ensured that the complex achieved the BREEAM Outstanding environmental standard. The design was Highly Commended at the BREEAM Awards in March 2014. It was nominated again at Final Certificate in 2016 as it scored 93.08%, making it the second highest performing industrial building in the UK.
BREEAM is an environmental assessment technique and rating system to measure the sustainability and energy efficiency of a building.
Properties are measured across a wide range of categories with criteria spanning energy use through to ecology. All aspects of a building’s design are critically assessed, including factors like water use, waste, materials and management process.
BREEAM Outstanding is the highest accolade a new building can earn – further cementing Bristol’s enviable reputation as the green capital of Europe.
George Ferguson, Mayor of Bristol, said: “Achieving BREEAM Outstanding fits our ambitions for Bristol as European Green Capital 2015, when the complex will open. The project sets the standard for future industrial developments in the city, and for the wider regeneration of South Bristol. It will be the first BREEAM Outstanding development of its type in the South West.”
Photos: Courtesy of Architects Stride Treglown