Mace Group

It is easy to assume that new buildings are the focus of the UK Government’s campaign to reduce emissions from
the built environment, but this assumption does not take into account the buildings already standing that will be requiredto meet this same target by 2050. For many, demolition and subsequent rebuilding is not an option in terms of logistics or cost. The crux of the issue is: can renovation projects provide exemplary environmental credentials and stand up to new build projects with increasingly sustainable building designs?

Hampshire County Council met this challenge head on. Their headquarters in Winchester was a classic of its time: a blunt rectangular box sitting on top of a four levelled car park with convoluted walkways into the building ensuring commuters never had to set foot outside. The fact that the building was a blight on the aesthetically genteel Winchester, guzzled energy, leaked water and was made up of long dingy corridors made demolition and total rebuild seem like the only option. The council commissioned a number of feasibility studies, the results of which somewhat surprisingly showed that “recycling” the old building would be the most cost and energy efficient solution.

A challenging brief

In need of a project team with experience in low energy design, Hampshire County Council supplemented its own in-house property expertise with support from its framework consultants and external specialists. Mace provided project management, contract administration, IT consultancy, move management, CDM coordination, facilities management and change management advice.

The building was required to:

• Be highly sustainable
• Enable the introduction of new flexible working methods with a more efficient use of assets
• Reduce the county council's office portfolio to enable funds to be directed into front line services

A beneficial outcome

Already being used as a Carbon Trust case study, the overall impact of the building is undeniable and not just due to its environmental credentials. In addition to the fact that the environmental impact of the building has been reduced to less than half that of an equivalent new-build mechanically ventilated office building, its appearance and working environment have been transformed. Externally the outdated appearance has been transformed into a modern building using local materials that are much more in harmony with Winchester and its surrounding area.

In addition to the aesthetics of the building, facilities for staff have also not been overlooked: the 12,600 m2 building has a new entrance, provides a flexible, open-plan office space and incorporates a 200-seat auditorium, meeting rooms, a cafe and restaurant, all laid out around new landscaped courtyards.

The statistical benefits of the new building speak for themselves

• 90kg CO2/m2 carbon emission reduction per year to a target level of 39kg CO2/m2. (Over time, the project team believes the building could achieve 30kg a 70% reduction in energy use)
• 30% space utilisation improvement leading to an eventual 4,500 m2 reduction in office space requirement
• 75% more staff occupying the refurbished office
• £200,000 saving on running costs per annum
• 1 predicted BREEAM excellent rating
• £40m within budget

Mace acted as Hampshire County Council’s strategic partner throughout the development, forming Improvement and Efficiency South East (IESE), with both organisations working together to combine business transformation with property asset management. This project can be seen as a demonstration project for IESE (formerly SECE) and can be used to show local authorities what can be done with a poorly performing, ageing building and a pro-active approach to property asset management.

To find out how the project team remodeled Elizabeth II Court into an innovative flagship building please click on the PDF above right.