Colmore Gate is a landmark development in the heart of Birmingham. The existing building consists of 16 floors with two basement floors over a podium and tower section constructed in the mid-1990s.
We have been working with the design team to extend and refurbish the building to provide 23 floors of office accommodation in the tower and 9 floors in the podium section, totalling approx. 315,000ft2 NIA. As part of the refurbishment, the existing VAV air handling system will be removed and replaced with an air source heat pump system with on-floor heat recovery units to provide comfort cooling, heating, and ventilation. Additionally the building will benefit from a building and energy management systems, high-efficiency LED lighting and controls.
The project ethos revolves around a core carbon principle of retaining existing structure and foundations and working within that constraint to provide new and exciting office space.
As the Sustainability Consultant on the project we are targeting BREEAM Outstanding, WELL Core Platinum, ActiveScore Platinum and RESET certified to maximise the scheme’s sustainability credentials. We are also completing a whole life carbon and circular economy assessment to see that we are maximising re-use and aiming to identify further reductions in carbon where possible.
In addition the building is subject to the Design for Performance approach with the aim to achieve a 5 Star NABERS UK rating. The building is projected to deliver an ‘A’ EPC rating.
The building’s planning application was submitted to Birmingham City Council in August 2023, and we provided all the necessary supporting documentation, including the sustainability statement and energy strategy.
We are looking forward to our continued involvement in the project, pending positive planning feedback.
The completed site now comprises four detached industrial warehouse units ranging from 14,000sq ft to 36,000sq ft, all with naturally ventilated and heated offices. The two larger units each have an 8 person MRL passenger lift, while the smaller units have been provided with platform lifts. The warehouse area was designed as a shell for future fit-out with capped off utility services.
Academy House was refurbished to provide 22,100ft² of high quality office accommodation. Watkins Payne supplied building services engineering which saw the 3rd to 6th floor including the ground floor reception of Academy House converted into open plan office areas and reception. This became the London headquarters for Sports Direct.
Watkins Payne carried out the Independent Design Review role for Red Lion Court, a mixed use commercial office development, located in central London.
The building at 10 New Burlington Street has been redeveloped to offer 172,000ft² of high quality office and retail accommodation, for which Watkins Payne supplied building services engineering, vertical transportation engineering and energy consultancy to achieve an EPC B rating. We also supplied BREEAM services and achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating for the development.
Premier Inn has recently invested in the redevelopment of its Uxbridge hotel to provide increased accommodation options and better facilities for guests.
Situated in Southwark on the intersection of Great Suffolk Street and Union Street, the iconic red brick Union House, historically a warehouse converted into offices, has undergone a substantial redevelopment.