High Performing Buildings – June’s Roundup

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26 June 2024

This month's high performing building roundup includes an airport terminal that resembles a garden, a contemporary workspace in the heart of Bristol and two listed heritage buildings turned workspaces for civil servants.

 

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BLOK – Bristol

 

A new office space in Bristol has launched following a £12 million major refurbishment. Having purchased the 1980s-built property in 2021, real estate specialists Boultbee Brooks decided against demolition and instead employed Mutiny Architecture & Design to come up with plans which could breathe new life into the existing structure.

The site offers 70,000 sq ft of modern workspace and a further 11,000 sq ft of occupier welfare and amenity space including communal lounge, meeting rooms, presentation spaces, independent coffee shop, courtyard garden, roof terrace and private gym.

 

Picture: a photograph showing communal meeting areas with tables and stools, and tiered open seating. Image Credit: Boultbee Brooks

 

The building is already 60 per cent let prior to practical completion to tenants Coreus Projects, 5 Values Consulting, RWK Goodman and Nathaniel Lichfield Partners.

Boultbee Brooks Managing Director, James Whitcher, said: “In line with our core ethos of ‘Repurpose, not Rebuild’, we’re passionate about reviving older buildings and giving them a new lease of life, with the aim of keeping our carbon footprint as low as possible.

“From the outset we committed to retaining the existing façade, instead prioritising expenditure in areas of the scheme that would deliver the highest level of day-to-day benefit for the occupiers using it, resulting in one of the most amenity rich workspaces in Bristol at a very competitive price point.”

 

India’s ‘Terminal in a Garden’ 

 

A new airport terminal at Kempegowda International Airport radically reimagines the travel experience with a design inspired by the “garden city” heritage of Bengaluru.

The main terminal block features a multilevel “forest belt,” a 90-meter-wide swathe of lushly planted landscape, marked by indigenous flora, meandering paths, and multi-story pavilions clad in bamboo. The space aims to create a calming and immersive experience for arriving and departing passengers, reminding travellers of Bengaluru’s reputation as “the garden city”

The terminal has also been recognised as the largest terminal in the world to have been pre-certified as a LEED Platinum building by US Green Building Council (USGBC), prior to opening. The terminal has also received the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) Platinum certification for its sustainable architecture and design. 

 

Westminster’s New Offices

 

Two government listed heritage buildings have undergone a full strip out and CAT B office floor refurbishments, revitalising close to 11,000m2 of office space.

The works, from BW: Workplace Experts,  include fit outs of new meeting rooms, workspaces, comms rooms, WCs and showers. Business lounges and an event space have been installed, as well as a new double reception, feature staircase, WUDU/ablution room and fire command centre. A new business event space for 200 people, and a basement with changing rooms and cycle stores were also created. 

Both buildings had full façade cleaning, restoration and lift refurbishments, plus the installation of new MEPH systems including main plant and plant rooms across the floors and roof. Both buildings have been connected to a District Heating Network to increase energy efficiency.

Sympathetic design was achieved by using chimneys to conceal ductwork and services, which also served to minimise impact on the protected building layout. BW: Workplace Experts used GPR scanning to validate designs without physical damage and provided clear method statements with visuals to speed up the listed building consent approval process.

Picture: a CGI of the new terminal at Kempegowda International Airport​, showing the huge amount of plants and bamboo structures. Image Credit: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill 

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 26 June 2024

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